Flesh Caverns

"Flesh Caverns"
Single by Romo from the album Psi
Released	October 29, 2021
Format	CD single Vinyl single Digital download
Recorded	2021
Genre	Electronic · Avant-pop · Experimental · Industrial · Porn groove
Length	4:20
Label	The Empire
Writer	Jenna Romo
Producer	Jenna Romo
Chart position	tbd (Urapopstar Top 40 Singles Chart)
Certification	tbd
Additional artwork
Romo chronology
"Psi (Before The End)" (2021) "Flesh Caverns" (2021)

"Flesh Caverns" is the fourth song on Romo's seventh studio album, Psi. It is an electronic, experimental, industrial and porn groove song about two couples with interconnecting sexual experiences. Inspired by multiple transgressive fiction novels and the music of Malena, the song samples "Mushroom" by Can, changing the context of the sample's lyrics to refer to the penis instead of a nuclear bomb.

"Flesh Caverns" is scheduled to be released as the lead track of a three-song EP that will simultaneously serve as the second single from Psi and Tambora, along with "Fifteen For Eternity" from Psi and "Screams From The Light Years" from Tambora, on October 29, 2021, in a high profile rematch of her January 2010 chart battle with Paulo Araujo.

"Flesh Caverns" was one of the most widely discussed songs from Psi upon the album's release because of its highly sexually explicit content. It polarized music critics upon its release, with some praising it for its surrealist approach to describing sexual fantasies and the wordplay and literary devices used throughout the verses, and others dismissing it for over the top sexual and shock lyrics.

Lyrics

Romo explained in a Reddit AMA hosted by the amateur porn subreddit r/GoneWild that the title "Flesh Caverns" ties in with the song's sexual themes because it refers to the mouth, vagina and anus, comparing the human orifices to caves.

The first verse describes a sexual experience that Shannon and Matthew, a young couple, have with each other while naked in the woods. The lyrics are notable for exploring a kegel fetish, with Shannon admiring Matthew's ability to flex his penis on its own and Matthew watching Shannon's anus twitch before penetrating her. In the second, an unnamed 34-year-old virgin seeks out a sex worker named Chloe for his first sexual experience, but in lieu of the five-figure deposit she expects, the virgin offers to name Chloe the beneficiary of his life insurance policy so she could inherit his wealth when he dies. Despite initial hesitation, Chloe follows through on the virgin's request and the two have mutually enjoyable sex.

The last verse of the song finds Chloe connecting with Shannon online, seeking out sex with a woman after her experience with the virgin leaves her with an unsatisfied craving. The virgin crosses Matthew's path in the forest, boasting that the sight of his penis would erase his hesitations about experimenting with another man. After having sex, the virgin suggests reconnecting for a threesome with a woman, prompting Matthew to show him a picture of a woman. The virgin recognizes the woman as Chloe, suggesting that Matthew is cheating on Shannon. But the song ends without further explanation.

Several lines in the song drew inspiration from multiple transgressive fiction books. Romo's exposition, including the virgin telling Chloe that sex with her showed him what it means to be alive, was inspired by sex scenes in D.H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover. The lyrics comparing the way Matthew penetrates Shannon to "a knife ... killing her" paraphrases dialogue from Charles Bukowski's Factotum. The line in the third verse where Chloe says she thinks about how sex with a woman would make her feel rich was inspired by a similar line in Chuck Palahniuk's Choke about masturbation. Romo also drew inspiration from the work of Canadian pop musician and retired porn star Malena, whose songs were well known for their pornographic content. The second verse includes a line that simultaneously interpolates LCD Soundsystem's "You Wanted A Hit" and references Romo's own song "TITS-FM!" Another line in the verse compares Chloe and the virgin's simultaneous orgasms to the harmonies on the Beach Boys' 1966 album Pet Sounds.

Track listings

CD single

1. Flesh Caverns (Amended Radio Edit)
2. Fifteen For Eternity (DJ Double Garage's Fountain Of Youth Remix)
3. Screams From The Light Years (Travis Barker Remix)

Vinyl single

1. Flesh Caverns (Amended Radio Edit)
2. Fifteen For Eternity (DJ Double Garage's Fountain Of Youth Remix)
3. Screams From The Light Years (Travis Barker Remix)

Promotion

tba

Reception

Critical

"Flesh Caverns" polarized music critics upon the release of Psi. Those who commended it hailed it as a welcome shift from the majority of Romo's other 2020-21 songs, complimenting its descriptive expositions, wordplays and surrealist approach to describing sexual fantasies. Those who trashed the song strongly disliked how sexually explicit the lyrics were, particularly the references to genital and anal contractions.

True to the song's literary influences, one positive review of "Flesh Caverns" described it as a song that the beatniks would have wished they wrote.

In a scathing review of Psi, The Guardian claimed Romo hasn't "moved on from the mindset of a gooner that made POPSTAR 2 an epic fail" because of the inclusion of "Flesh Caverns", further dismissing the ending as "a juvenile boast" and criticizing the wordplay by saying, "It also will also forever ruin conchs in the minds of anyone who listens to the song." Pitchfork described the track as "a regression into juvenile locker room coprophagia masquerading as high art."

The song also polarized Romo's industry peers. Shell Ruin said the song was among Romo's best writing. Paulo Araujo praised how experimental the music and lyrics were, though his partner Raphael thought the song was too much for him.

Commercial

tbd