Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Shilpa Ray has released a new single and music video titled “Lawsuits and Suicide.” The song comes from the artist’s upcoming album Portrait of a Lady, set to release on April 29 through Northern Spy. The release of the new track comes alongside an announcement that Ray will be having a tour in Spring of 2022.

When watching and listening to “Lawsuits and Suicide,” it becomes instantly clear that Shilpa Ray has decided to take significant influence from the ’80s, both in terms of musical sound and video aesthetic. Musically, the track offers a high-energy and poppy punk track that Ray is known for, using synth instruments that pay clear homage to ’80s rock music. In the humorous video for the single, we watch Shilpa Ray play a judge in a powdered wig alongside her backup dancers. Throughout the video, we see Ray using her gavel as a microphone, goofily dance alongside her backup dancers, among other things, all over an ’80s themed backdrop and filter.

Lyrically, Shilpa Ray’s track intends to discuss tactics that have been used by her past abuser and by other abusers in relationships. Specifically, Ray was struck when she learned that other people had also been threatened by abusers who claimed that they would commit suicide or file lawsuits in order to control their victims. Ray describes the lyrical intent of the song in a statement, explaining that “Lawsuits and Suicide was written as a diss track to my abuser from a relationship I had suffered through in my mid to late 20s. A couple years ago I had read a New York Times article where a high profile abuser had allegedly threatened his victims with either a lawsuit or committing suicide and I was floored that my abuser had used the same style of threats on me.” She explains that she used the new track “to express my rage and mock my abuser’s unoriginality.” The musician goes on to explain how her decision to use 80’s style music and aesthetic in the single relates to feelings of positivity she wanted to express, stating that “I wrote this song in the same vein as I did most of the album Portrait of A Lady, by using an 80s soundscape and songwriting sensibility. Ultimately I wanted this song to sound like I was winning. The 80s were all about winning.”

Watch the new music video for “Lawsuits and Suicide” via YouTube below.

Ray’s Spring tour is set to begin very shortly, beginning with a March 31 show in Santa Ana, California, followed by a show in San Diego on the first of April. Then, the artist will proceed to hit the other side of the country, starting with a show in Boston, Massachusetts on April 11. Ray will proceed to give performances in Washington DC, New York, Philadelphia, among other places, finally concluding with a show in Detroit, Michigan on April 19. See the full list of shows below.

Spring 2022 Tour Dates

3/31 – Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room
4/1 – San Diego, CA@ Casbah
4/11 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
4/12 – Washington, DC @ Union Stage
4/14 – New York, NY @ Gramercy Theatre
4/15 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry
4/16 – Athens, OH @ The Union
4/18 – Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
4/19 – Detroit, MI @ El Club

Also featured on Portrait of a Lady will be Shilpa Ray’s previous single, “Heteronormative Horseshit Blues.”