Molly Burman is a 19-year-old from North London who has grown up surrounded by music and started writing songs as a six year old. This might go some way to explaining why “Fool Me With Flattery”, her debut single proper, is so assured and mature in its themes. Introducing us to the song’s inspiration, she says:
“I wrote the song after a long day of feeling overlooked and ignored by some of the guys in my life. I was fed up, angry and used the stereotype of a mansplaining misogynist to let it all out. This song is for anyone who feels belittled and like they’re being made to shrink themselves; be as big as you possibly can, and don’t let anyone fool you with flattery.”
It starts insouciantly enough, Burman in sing-song sweet tone over loping pop guitar, but her words betray the true depth of her loathing for the man complaining about how they’ve been “grinding all week.” She continues to toy with the object of her ire, getting ever more saccharine in the irresistible chorus, acting the eyelash-fluttering girl they expect her to be before she delivers the killer blow: “don’t belittle me boy / surprisingly my brain works quite well alone / when you see my name in lights / yours will be in the back of my mind in a place where I’ll never find it.” Take that.
The video for “Fool Me With Flattery” was directed by Dora Paphides takes the misogyny up another comic level and you can watch it below, or listen to the song on streaming platforms.
