How Ha Vay’s ‘Baby I’m the Wolf’ Reclaims the Wild Side of Girlhood

It was 9 p.m. on a Monday evening. The night was starting to fall into its typical smoky sunset as I walked down the street to The Echo, a music venue in Los Angeles.

“Ha Vay” — the sign glowed across the top of the building, highlighting the acts of the night.

Walking through the club’s front doors into a temporary void of darkness, I kept going to let my eyes adjust. Tonight, The Echo had seemingly transformed into a dreamlike apparition of girlhood. The stage was dusted in purple light, framed with red roses and ivy. A fairytale scene is what it had become, and while it was probably the last thing you’d expect from a nightclub off the curb of Sunset Boulevard, the girls floating by in their white prairie skirts — hair adorned with flowers, carrying their purses with little lace bows fixed to them — might’ve made you think otherwise.

And trust me, it was all very fitting.

In a Lana Del Rey type of way.
In a “This Is What Makes Us Girls” type of way.
In a Polaroid-of-Sophia-Coppola’s-bedroom type of way.

Girlhood: as in growing up in the way only we knew how. 

Spilled red nail polish,

    scarred knees,

        a teddy bear,

            and rock collections.

Ha Vay’s lyrics contain themes of nostalgia, childlike curiosity, self-discovery, female empowerment, spirituality, and Mother Nature. 

“I wrote a concept album exploring the horrors and triumphs of girlhood,” Ha Vay explains, referring to the release of Baby I’m the Wolf, her freshman album. Having previously released an EP and six singles, the Bay Area local dropped her most recent project three days prior to her Los Angeles album release show, on June 21 — a full moon. 

Stepping out from the foggy stage corridor barefoot, dressed in a white ruffled mini dress with a removable train, she joined her band on stage. Composed of a violinist, a drummer, a keyboardist, and two guitarists — the majority in white gauzy shirts and flower crowns — they descended through her set list, playing her new album from start to finish.

Comparing the untamed spirit of women to werewolves is a concept that Ha Vay continually explores. “[Both’s] connection to the moon, the transformation, the wildness, the bloodlust — there’s something so inherently female about it,” she reflects. In tandem with her new album, she has released music videos “that [remake] the familiar fairytales and folktales we’ve seen. But with a wild woman twist.”

Her performance of her title song, “Baby I’m the Wolf” echoed this. Emulating the likeness of a howling wolf on stage, Ha Vay threw her head back, singing, “You think you’ve caught a lamb / but, baby, I’m the wolf.” The song summons women to stand in their authenticity, holding up their sweetness and ferociousness in both hands proudly. A woman’s emotional nature is not her weakness; it can be as much of a superpower as anything else. Though Ha Vay confidently stalked the stage, she also twirled. 

This album is her manifesto: “I love writing about things that scare me and writing about [them] as a way [to confront them],” the artist explains in a recent interview with YouTuber and poet Karissa Love. “I am the wolf, but I am still convincing myself that I’m a wolf, and I think there’s something fun about that, almost like manifesting it and pushing up against that and not wanting to be taken advantage of.”

“Moon Girl,” the album’s eighth song, is one of my favorites. Its lyricism is raw and unapologetic — a seductive chant from a woman who will not compromise her unrestrained spirit just to be loved. Punctuated by a hypnotic double clap, Ha Vay sings, “And I want you as you are / Take me so far / as I can dance to your guitar / Won’t you take me / as I’m meant to be / Wild.” 

The melodies of “Moon Girl” have become as second nature to my car as the pack of gum in my glove compartment and the emergency sneakers in my passenger seat. In the days following the show and with Ha Vay’s new record on repeat, I found myself craving putting on a whimsical long, flowy skirt, weaving flowers through my hair, and reconnecting with my inner child. I found myself craving being imaginative and felt free to create without boundaries or the need to do it well. Just like I had when I was a little girl, before I felt reduced down to what was acceptable and what wasn’t. Being in a venue full of other women that felt that same type of freedom, that were also reconnecting with younger versions of themselves, had me wanting to do the same. 

Suffice to say, if you see me out and about in fairycore garb, frolicking aimlessly, collecting shells and rocks, just know my inner child is very happy. 

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Catch Ha Vay on her North American tour this fall with singer Sarah Kinsley. Starting in Chicago on October 1, they will continue to move through cities in the Northeast, Midwest, and Eastern Canada. Follow her Instagram @angeldreamgirl77 to keep up with her tour and future releases.