Kevin Bronson on September 2nd, 2020

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Deep Waters are a young L.A. quartet making the kind of ’90s-style indie-rock known as pep-punk, employing bristling, biting guitars, brisk rhythms and an overall sense of tenacity to drive home frontwoman Erin Jones’ views on identity, empowerment and relationships.

Jones doesn’t shout, scream or whine and doesn’t need to. “I’m gonna be what I want / and nothing can stop me / Masculine, feminine / What does that even mean?” she sings plaintively at the start of “I’m Not Afraid of Anything,” the quartet’s third single. Her bandmates — guitarist Joshua Tovar, bassist Mike Hetzler and drummer David Contreras — turn the rest into mosh-worthy racket.

The video for “I’m Not Afraid of Anything” is delicious camp. Directed by Mason Williams, aka Mase, it stars actor Lucy Loken, who does battle with four creatures: a mutated koi fish that feeds on toxic waste, a garbage-eating computer virus, a Trans Am-driving alien who eats brains and a non-binary marooned astronaut with a thing for gourmet cheese. Loken is armed with only her wits and water pistols.

“I came up with the idea of these four monsters chasing her around and her ultimately killing them,” Jones says. “Mike, our bassist, helped the whole script come together. I spent about two months making those masks out of paper maché, cardboard and tulle. Only one of them was intact by the end of the shoot. Everyone basically improvised their parts, with the help of Mason Williams directing us. I was really aiming for a campy, yet high-quality video. I wanted it to look professional, but stay true to who we are — a bunch of awkward creatives.”

Monsters aside, the song is serious stuff.

“It’s mostly about female/underdog empowerment,” Jones says. “Not only do I want to reclaim my power as a woman, but help others who are underprivileged or not given a fair shot in the world. I wrote it around a time when people were commenting on my short hair or dressing like a guy. A lot of my friends are androgynous and face judgment everyday.

“I really wanted to write a song that had a classic punk chord structure and guitar tone. The guys wrote their parts easily and we sped up the end to give it the sense of urgency this subject requires. … I think it was one of those songs I knocked out in a day because I had so many of those thoughts and feelings brewing inside me for a while. To give the song that title and say it in every chorus feels really empowering.”

“I’m Not Afraid of Anything” is officially out on Thursday.

||| Watch: The video for “I’m Not Afraid of Anything”

||| Also: Stream “Dream Killer” and “Tortured Artist”