Since the release of her first record, BLUE SUPER LOVE in 2024, Ally Evenson has been labeled “one to watch” by Pitchfork, Pigeons and Planes, and other outlets.

Maybe the 29-year-old Detroit native took that label a bit too literally when she released a short film to accompany her second full-length record, Speed Kills. Coming in at around twenty-six minutes, the film features story lines and visuals for six songs from the album. In the visual, Evenson dies many little deaths, which she says mirrors the “horrors of her twenties.”

Speed Kills - Ally Evenson — Speed Kills – Ally Evenson

Evenson’s records, performances, and now her film all point to the same truth: she commits. There is no sense of sangfroid or nonchalance about the artist, nor should there be, as she is taking risks in multiple mediums.

Take “Strawberry,” for example, which borrows from ‘90s grunge empresses like Liz Phair and Carrie Brownstein in its subversive verses and warped spoken word accusingly delivered by Evenson. Musically, it is clear that she is less concerned with conventional polish, and more concerned with following her impulse, in this case, a lust for vengeance, wherever it leads.

I fed it up and you let me
So I’ll watch your life make a movie
What’s done is done, I’ll leave you be
Knowing you’re out there is such a tease
I’m on a serious mean streak
Come tie me down in the backseat
Tell me I’m sweeter than candy
But I fed it up and you let me

The short film allows the artist to mythologize her reality. “Lucky Day” features Evenson having a one-sided freak-out as she sings, “Normally I would lose my mind about it / Make a scene, every molehill is a mountain.” Her falsetto translates into a sickly sweet whine, the soundtrack to Evenson and her ensemble as they engage in what the musician calls in an Instagram caption, “evil theatre troupe type sh*t.”

Track “AFO” features Evenson tied to a tree: First sensually fed peaches while smothered in sapphic eye-contact, then force-fed by hands with excessive silver accessories. Even the biggest fan of stone-fruits (myself included) would be nauseated by this scene, which builds from the droning verses into an explosion of bass, guitar, and drums.

Ally Evenson © 2026 — Ally Evenson © Claudia Chiossone

However, for all its absurdity, there is something cathartic about Evenson’s theatricality.

Evenson sits across from me, her grey-green eyes gleaming against the black shadow that envelopes her eyelids and then some. Her piercings and tooth gem glint as she describes how freeing it is to “scream about hating her ex” with other people. We discuss how what might look like an elaborate, larger than life performance from the outside is for Evenson, a way to wrap her head around everything. Speed Kills is the strand she pulls on for the entire thing – heartbreak, anger, panic, helplessness – to come loose.

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:: stream/purchase Speed Kills here ::

:: connect with Ally Evenson here ::

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‘Speed Kills: The Film’ – Ally Evenson

A CONVERSATION WITH ALLY EVENSON

Atwood Magazine: Why did you choose to release a film instead of individual music videos?

Ally Evenson: We didn’t have the film in mind when the album was being written. I write the music video ideas myself. I started to write out treatments for the music videos, and decided to put them all together in the short film. That album felt more like a narrative to me. I thought I could tell a story with the film that does not need to mirror the album exactly. The album and the film offer two different experiences.

You’ve said that Speed Kills allowed you to slow your panic down. Where are you now that you have some distance from the release?

Ally Evenson: I was actually diagnosed with a panic disorder in college. I think now, it’s more existential anxiety. I have learned to cope with that. To me, “Overdressed at the Party” feels like a panic attack.

What did you want to capture with the film?

Ally Evenson: The album highlights a lot of aspects of myself I do not love. I think every scene in the film represents one of those aspects. I wanted to capture the horrors of my twenties in the film. I went through a lot.

Is there a piece of media that had a strong effect on you from its imagery or content?

Ally Evenson: The movie Funny Games was a huge influence for Speed Kills. Also Bones and All, Nowhere by Gregg Araki. I grew up doing theater and I read a lot of plays. I read Angels in America, which had a huge impact on me.

That Andrew Garfield performance…

Ally Evenson: It’s the perfect execution.

I know you are a fellow Radiohead fan. Do you also love the “In Rainbows – From the Basement” video?

Ally Evenson: I think I mentioned that in an interview one time. To me, that is a film! The way he dances and uses his arms is art to me.

Is there a hard line between Ally Evenson the musician and the everyday Ally Evenson?

Ally Evenson: I think my stage presence is a bit freakier and darker. My stage presence is who I am at my core. I am pretty honest in my music. I think that in the visuals, there is a line. I am almost playing a characterization of myself. It helps me not get too emotional or invested in it.

You tackle some big questions, one of them being your tendency to feel worthy of love. Is this a theme that you find creeping up in your life?

Ally Evenson: I am a lot kinder to myself, now. I have spent a lot of time alone in the past two and a half years.

Is that by choice?

Ally Evenson: Yes. I have entered small relationships. But, I always have myself. I have learned so much about myself. Speed Kills is a lot of wondering if I deserve “it.”

You said with this record, you want listeners to walk away empowered. How did this record empower you as an artist?

Ally Evenson: It has helped me take myself less seriously. My first album had a lot of buzz; Pitchfork gave it a nice review. I think that placed a lot of big expectations on me. I decided to make music that I like. If people hate it, that’s ok! That’s how it empowered me. I learned a lot and became better at producing. I became more confident in my sound and voice, too. There were some risks I took vocally, on it. I think there are some anthemic songs out there that I want people to scream with me.

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