Roy Jurgens on October 31st, 2017

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New Evil’s latest video combines two of lead singer Sophia Anita Reyes’ long time passions, ass kicking and kicking ass. … Or to be more specific, rock ‘n’ roll and martial arts. Shot in stark black and white and backed by the power-chorded ripper that brings the best of L7 to mind, the video features Reyes fighting her way through a sinister crew of thugs holding her beloved band captive. Reyes’ punching and kicking stage persona dominates New Evil’s live shows, so it made perfect sense to implement that aspect into the storyline for their latest video, “Pale Skin Latin Girls,” which is a continuation of a story first established previously in their video for “The W.” Working with her brother Jeremy, an experienced fighter, and director Jamie Reed, the video is an ultra-violent tribute to girl power. Said Reyes, “Everyone on the crew and in my band was so supportive. No one ever doubted me because I’m a girl and that’s very much what New Evil stands for.”

The video draws its inspiration from any number of familiar films, including “Buffy,” “Cowboy Bebop,” “Jessica Jones” and especially “Atomic Blonde.” Says Reyes: “The style of the fighting in ‘Atomic Blonde’ was a huge influence on me even before the movie came out. I also drew from the scene in ‘The 5th Element’ where Leeloo fights the Mangalores all by herself.”

The video, which took months to practice, involved a stunt coordinator and was filmed in eight hours, was not made without mishap. “My brother (who plays the character in the suspenders) dared the guy playing the other thug, DC, to actually choke me to see what I would do,” Reyes said. “He didn’t tell me ahead of time. That was fun. Also, I hit my brother with a sugar glass bottle and a bit got in his eye. That was not fun.”

||| Watch: The video for “Pale Skin Latin Girls”

||| Live: New Evil performs Nov. 25 at the Echo and Dec. 19 at the Hi Hat.