“I Wanna F*** My Roommate” is the opening chapter of a much bigger project. Created and performed by Netta Toledano, Ivy and the Poison is a twelve-song emo-punk rock opera that follows a fictional character named Ivy through the emotional wreckage of mistaking a sociopath for a soulmate, and this track is where the story starts, before any of that damage happens. Ivy’s just moved into a new apartment, became instantly obsessed with an attractive roommate, and spun the whole situation into a chaotic romantic fantasy. It’s punchy, playful emo-punk with a genuinely theatrical edge, drawing on reference points like My Chemical Romance, Mitski, and Chappell Roan, and it’s built to introduce Ivy as a character before the larger arc pulls her toward toxic obsession and eventual breakdown.
This is very edgy theater kid energy, in the best possible way. As someone who doesn’t really listen to this genre regularly, it was a genuinely fun listen, cheeky in a way that lands rather than feeling try-hard, funny and self-aware without undercutting the real emotional stakes the rest of the project is building toward. That balance, lust and humor sitting right next to self-awareness, is exactly what the song sets out to do, and it pulls it off convincingly as both a standalone track and a first chapter.
What’s most interesting here is how theatrical the whole thing is. Toledano’s project blends live music with spoken word into something closer to a one-woman confessional than a straightforward album, and while Ivy’s story is fictional, it’s rooted in real experiences with trauma bonding and manipulation, giving even this comedic entry point a bit of weight underneath the fun. Knowing where the character is eventually headed adds dramatic irony to a song this playful on the surface.
For a project that’s still actively developing, with a full concept album and theatrical production in the works, “I Wanna F*** My Roommate” is a strong, attention-grabbing entry point, funny and messy exactly the way it wants to be, while quietly setting the stage for everything that’s about to go wrong.
