Aesthetically speaking, “Bound” is everything you could want in a late night jam. It’s slow, sultry, and layered with a heavy heartbeat of a bass line. It’s pure sex — the right kind with the wrong person that happens because it feels so damn good. As Indiana say aptly sings, “This isn’t love, it’s dangerous”.
That being said, this is a song that also makes your skin crawl in a bad way. On one hand Indiana really intensely captures the enticing loss of control that accompanies seduction. However, a few closer listens and I can’t help but think that the song walks a line that is a little too willing to indulge in a glorification sexual violence.
Everyone has a right to artistic license and frank vulnerability in whatever they create. I admire the honesty that is in Indiana’s music. However, when you see a stunningly beautiful woman being beaten and singing in a voice that is dripping with desire, “I bare this cross, I am immune / Desensitized, be kind and be cruel / I will abide, you make the rules,” I begin to wonder if the artist is relying more on a certain amount of gratuitous sexuality than her actual musical chops — which is a shame, because she is clearly very talented.
In the literal physicality of the music video for “Bound,” Indiana and her producers have made the mistake of confusing shock value with artistic daring. For example, when listening to the song on its own, the line “My hands are tied, admitting defeat / you have corrupted, the innocent me” provides a plethora of opportunity for metaphorical interpretation. “My hands are tied” can refer to quite the range of conflicting beliefs, impulses and desires. However, in the video Indiana literally shows herself being tied up and her mouth covered with duct tape — a visual choice that may be appealing to people who keep Fifty Shades of Gray on their nightstand, but for the rest of us is frankly lazy, predictable, and borderline offensive.
I don’t mean for any of this to undermine the sheer listenability that Indiana has achieved with “Bound.” Musically, it’s a great song. It has an undeniable pulse that quickly captures the ear. If Indiana is able to lean a little bit further into the artistic potential of her work, we may have a real hit on our hands.