Q&A: Revenge Wife Taps into Pop Ether in “Saying Nothing”
REDEFINING THE DEPTHS OF POP MUSIC – Revenge Wife, the project of Liz Nistico and the solo project of HOLYCHILD, continues to redefine the boundaries of pop with her latest single release, “Saying Nothing.”
Nistico’s work as Revenge Wife taps into a raw, unfiltered energy that feels like it's plucked straight from the collective unconscious, connecting her music to a deeper, almost spiritual realm of expression. This ether she’s connected to isn’t just a source of inspiration; it’s a wellspring of vulnerability, wisdom, and the kind of existential questioning that many pop artists shy away from. In a genre often dominated by glossy production and superficial themes, Revenge Wife stands out as an artist who dives deep into the intricacies of the human experience, exploring the pain, joy and contradictions that come with it.
True to her signature style, the track is a hypnotic blend of nostalgia and modernity, swirling together wavy melodies with an undercurrent of vulnerability that has become Revenge Wife’s calling card.
From the opening lines, “Saying Nothing” feels like a heart-to-heart conversation wrapped in a catchy pop anthem. Revenge Wife’s lyrics, “Now you’re finally at the place you’ve waited for / Only problem’s that you can’t stay a little more,” offer a glimpse into her introspective songwriting. She interlaces wise one-liners with effortless vocals, creating a sound that is both fresh and deeply vulnerable.
The song explores the complexities of unconditional love, a theme that resonates throughout the chorus: “You can take your heartbreak / Turn it into spring break / I promise that I love it / I’ll never be above it.” This line captures the essence of Revenge Wife’s message – a promise to love and support someone even at their lowest, during their most challenging moments.
The final verse portrays a dialogue between angels and the devil, encapsulating the eternal struggle between love and insecurity. The angels’ voices whisper, “It’s everything you want, inside everything you got, and I know it hurts a lot,” while the devil retorts, “It sucks just give it up, you know you want too much.” This lyrical tug-of-war reveals Revenge Wife’s vulnerability, questioning whether it’s possible to be all-loving as a human and if the nagging insecurities that plague us will ever fully dissipate.
“Saying Nothing” is a meditation on the nature of love and the human condition. Revenge Wife lays bare her emotions and insecurities makes her music not only relatable, but also profoundly impactful. She’s a free agent in every sense of the word – totally independent, with no manager and no label, yet she’s making waves in the music industry on her own terms.
Revenge Wife is a project that defies conventions, and “Saying Nothing” is a testament to Nistico’s ability to push the pop envelope while staying true to her artistic vision.
Photography Credit: Culture Industry
LUNA: Thank you for talking to Luna. Our readers would love to get to know you and your music more. For any readers who aren’t familiar with you yet, what inspires your artistic style and sound?
REVENGE WIFE: I'm inspired by so much lately. I'm really into The Voids and Fontaines DC. I'm coming out of psychedelic disco and I'm moving into this place that's more like The Voids.
LUNA: Who is revenge wife and what does she mean to you?
REVENGE WIFE: You know the line that goes ‘the best revenge is focusing on yourself.’ That is revenge wife to me. So over the years, it's been this thing that I've leaned into, especially when I'm going through it, or when I don't have any guidance, and I'm like, ‘what am I doing with my life?’ At least I have this thing that's pushing me forward. It's honestly been that to me. It's so crazy that's the name and that's what I intended for it, and then that's what it's been for me. I feel really grateful that I have this force that is guiding me. It feels like this self-fulfilling prophecy in a way.
LUNA: What kind of atmosphere or emotional space do you aim to create for your listeners?
REVENGE WIFE: I'm definitely in a really witchy place. It's always been very spiritual and connected to myself, not in an overt way, but I started in 2020 with all of the releases of Revenge Wife. I want to create a world where people feel comfortable to connect to who they are, and they don't feel judged, and they feel like they can be in this other place, and it's a combination between escapism and then also being real and dealing with things in that space. I think that that's the best art. I like to do that, and then stylistically, it all feels like an Italian film from the 80s, like Argento style.
LUNA: You just released your latest single “Saying Nothing” and huge congratulations! What is the inspiration behind the single?
REVENGE WIFE: “Saying Nothing” is a song that I wrote on my Casio in my apartment in February. It's pretty recent in terms of when you make a song and then put it out. It's a song about my relationship with my boyfriend and unconditional love. The chorus is about unconditional love. It's like you can take your heartbreak and turn it into spring break, meaning, you can take your pain and go crazy and do whatever you need to do, and then I promise I love it. I'll never be above it. I think that when I look at myself, the things in my life that I regret are times that I have hurt other people, but it's never intentional and I think that a lot of people feel that way. It’s the words that I would want somebody to say to me too, like, ‘don't worry. I wouldn't be upset with you, or I wouldn't judge you based on that.’ It's a whole conversation about that. The ending is about wanting it all. Then it's like a conversation between the angel and the devil. It's like, I want all these things, and there's this whisper, that's like, no, you don't want it. That's inspired by Napoleon Hill from Outwitting the Devil.
LUNA: What do you love most about “Saying Nothing” and is there a certain lyric, message or element that you gravitate towards the most?
REVENGE WIFE: I love the line that says ‘I haven't said it, because I can't stop saying nothing,’ because it felt so real. I was in this place where I was taught not saying what I needed to say. It's crazy how you write words in songs, not thinking about anything, and then they codify your feelings.
LUNA: Can you walk us through the creative process for “Saying Nothing” How did the song evolve from the initial idea to the final version?
REVENGE WIFE: I love it. It started in a state of pure emotion in my living room at my apartment with no furniture. I had just moved in. I had my Casio and wrote it on my Casio. I thought it was really beautiful. I really liked the melody. It was this idea of being the winter and everything felt so dark. I was thinking of spring and that’s the time I’ll be better for you. Then there was this other line that I thought was really timely for me at the time, which was like whispering an anthem blue into the night, because I was watching every night the winter sky. It is so electric blue in New York City when it's about to be night. That color was so vivid to me. I was really pulling from everything that I was going through right at that time in the winter. It was so dark and cold. I just felt debilitated. I brought it to my friend Kory – we teach meditation and songwriting – and we wanted to do a song together. He really inspired me. He wanted to use auto-tune and I’ve never used auto-tune before. It felt really fun to use auto-tune. It came together with him. Production-wise, it all happened, really, in flow state, like the song, the lyrics, the concepts, bringing it to him, working on it, we knew how it was going to happen. My old roommate Chris mastered it and my boyfriend tracked guitar on it. I thought that was so full circle.
Photography Credit: Culture Industry
LUNA: Your debut record is set to release in early 2025. Is “Saying Nothing” a glimpse into what listeners can expect from this new era of music? I would love to hear anything you would like to share about the record.
REVENGE WIFE: I'm excited about the album. It's so crazy releasing an album as an independent artist, because you're like, ‘should I do it?’ Earlier this year, I met with this really big PR company, and I want to hire them. It cost a lot of money and they told me that I shouldn’t put out my album and I don't have enough of a following, and that they weren’t going to work with me unless I have 100,000 followers. Unless you have a lot of followers, there aren't so many tastemakers like Luna magazine, which is such a tastemaker. I got a little discouraged, but I did have a resurgence in social media. I've been going viral all summer, so that's been helpful, but I was really back and forth about releasing the album. It is more in the disco dance pop world. Some of the songs are released. I'm excited about it. I feel like the time has come. I feel grateful to put it out.
LUNA: You’ve managed to carve out a space for yourself as an independent artist with no label or manager. What inspired you to take this path, and what have been some of the most rewarding aspects of doing it alone?
REVENGE WIFE: I definitely didn't intend to do it on my own. There have been so many moments where I could get a manager, and I actually did start Revenge Wife having management. We worked together for about a year and a half and I've talked to a bunch of labels at this point. I think the reason why I continue being independent is because I don't want anything to slow me down. I've been doing music now for over 12 years. HOLYCHILD got signed in 2013 and there was this little trajectory that I watched with other artists who got signed with us. We all got signed together. By 2016, almost everybody got dropped. We didn't get dropped, but we weren't doing so well either. I watched those other bands not release music, because they're shopping their album around for years, and then looking for the right manager to help put it out and then nothing happens. I've always just been like, that is not going to be me because it just stunts movement. Watching that happen and feeling like I didn't want anybody to hold me up, and also, I've had so many conversations with business people who were interested and then they don't even do anything. Then you're waiting around to work with them. I do think that labels still serve a purpose. I would be open to working with the right label or the right management. I really want an agent because I want to tour, so that is something that I need help with. In the meantime, I also feel like you want to get yourself the farthest you can so when those people come on board, they're at a high level, or your best level. I'm trying to do my best so that I can attract really quality people to my team.
LUNA: What advice would you give to other creatives who are considering or currently pursuing an independent path? What are the key things they should focus on to succeed?
REVENGE WIFE: For people who want to get in it, I would say, make sure that your art is as strong as it can be, and when it's as strong as it can be, get a bunch of it ready. Don't release it quickly. Get a bunch of it ready to release it in succession. Understand that people are super impressionable. I would keep it really good and tight. I would have a really strong plan when I'm releasing where I would say, release one thing, release another thing a month later, release another thing, or three more things at one time a month later, and at that time, have an in real life event. I would say, really lean on the people in your life, and don't expect anybody to want to work with you, because people are so impressionable. Everybody's pretty much just gonna be watching if you can make it or not, unfortunately. I would say, plan on doing it on your own for three years minimum. It is so hard to make money with music right now. Make sure that you have a life so you don't have to worry about it too much. You don't have to put that pressure on it, so that you can keep making really good art. Don't let social media impact your mental health.
LUNA: Are there particular moods or themes you find yourself gravitating towards when writing and performing? How do you channel these into your music?
REVENGE WIFE: I definitely gravitate toward connecting to myself. That's my number one thing, and it has been for so long, like connecting to myself. How can I be better? How can I be better in relationships? I used to write about toxic relationships, and now, I don't have that distraction. Connection to myself is a huge theme in my lyrics. “Confessions of an Earth Angel” is a song about connecting with yourself. “Fantasy Girl” is a song about feeling like, you should just leave me, because then I'll just be this amazing fantasy in your mind, and you won't have to live with the reality. I write about a lot of different things, but I definitely am always trying to connect to myself.
LUNA: What is the best environment to listen to your music in?
REVENGE WIFE: I feel like there are so many spots. I'm in the middle of nowhere in nature right now, so I would say, drive far, far away, and listen to it on the road while you're driving and feel it around you. I also think listening on high fidelity headphones while walking through people is a really beautiful experience to listen to music.
LUNA: How are you feeling in this current era of your career and what does the rest of the year look like that you would like to share with Luna?
REVENGE WIFE: This period feels crazy actually, like it just feels like there's nothing tangible there yet. I'm not making that much money from Revenge Wife, but, and I'm not getting a ton of opportunities. Still, I'm spending all my time scouring the internet looking for opportunities. I've been really working on it for a long time and trying to make sure that my music is as strong as it can be. It feels pretty crazy. I definitely feel there's a whole conversation about the shape of brat pop to come. My first album and The Shape of Brat Pop to Come and how that’s all connected. I really have been so connected to this ether and influencing pop music and the ideas that are circulating and people recognize that. I feel really grateful about that. I'm just trying to look for opportunities so that I can turn it into this thing that I can focus on making incredible albums, and that's what I want to do with my time, and really focus on the long form, rather than single here, single here, single here. My advice for artists is to get your work together and release it. Have your ammo and then release it. It feels like a really exciting time, and I plan to be very busy for the next couple years with Revenge Wife. I'm excited about it.
