Disgusting Sisters strut past critical eyes on the entrancing and witty “Killing It”

We’ve all encountered them. We all hate them. Mansplainers, lecturers, holier-than-thous. And now, thanks to the Disgusting Sisters, we have an anthem to blare back in their faces.

Anglo-French real-life sister duo Julianna and Josephine Hopkins are facing judgment with confidence and indifference on their debut single, “Killing It". Being their first song, the pair make it known early: they don’t take shit from anyone.

The concept of ‘killing it’ can carry different meanings. ‘Killing’ can be a synonym for succeeding, and ‘it’ could refer to life itself. The lyrics in Disgusting Sisters’ “Killing It” allude to that reading, but it’s hard to deny the more literal reading also seem to suggest something more literal on top of that: ‘killing’ as in choking, suffocating, beating, and ‘it’ as in any passer-by's who dare announce their judgements. Regardless, the Sisters want you to know they aren’t letting the opinions of cashiers, old men, or TikTok normies take them down.

“Killing It” is a punchy song with a catchy bassline that serves as the perfect vehicle, coupled with a flouncy and conversational vocal delivery, to mask the violence hidden in the lyrics. The vocals are often double-tracked, at times with falsetto harmonies, and mix perfectly with the staccato, thumping drums and guitar. Auxiliary percussion (is that a cowbell I hear?) create an atmospheric sound that altogether exudes attitude and confidence. The kind of attitude and confidence that mesmerizes rather than intimidates, and makes you want to be exactly like them.

Disgusting Sisters tell full-blown narrative stories in each verse, vividly and conversationally describing instances of judgment that piss them off while often only oscillating between two pitches. An old man tries to talk them out of a cigarette, an uptight moralist scorns them for trying to buy Plan B; whatever they face, they have an answer for. The lyrics are quick and clever, with run-on lines that bleed into the next beat. In the pre chorus, Julianna and Josephine alternate each line, but seamlessly continue each other's sentences, like on the line “But wait I missed the bit / Where I asked you for your advice.”

The music video is a true fever dream, with Julianna and Josephine smashing cars and operating cranes at a junkyard while each giving their own rendition of a ‘90s office siren. They dance through their rage, often acting out their preferred methods of killing, exuding more of that confidence that we all wish we had. The pair say the song is “about owning your own life so completely that even if you chose to wreck it, you’re still in control. Because in the end, the personal freedom to live on your own terms is what really matters.”