“For my confidence and my rage, I was hell-bent on being a rock star,” Eff Hakim declared in a MulaZine interview. Eff Hakim’s transition from Pastel Lite to a full-blown rock star as Hawa is one you might not expect if you’re still clinging to her city pop days. It’s like watching The Breakfast Club’s Allison transform in reverse; the synth-pop, short curly bob, and pink dresses era is gone. Eff is now more comfortably punk in her new era — guitar strapped to her body, red smoky eyes and longer hair. In 2024, rock stars are anything but dead. Well, at least in the case of Eff Hakim.

On “Mayat Hidup,” her second single off the upcoming debut album, the fury breathes life — stemming perhaps from the dissolution of her former band, the blatant sexism in the independent music scene or anyone who has wronged her. The main antagonist shifts from Eff’s self-consciousness (“Aku ingin rasa puas dengan laguku”) to the evil men who can’t seem to leave her mind alone. She cannily crafts the sound by studying Olivia Rodrigo’s Gen-Z nonchalant pop punk anthems and the bratty rock fury of Babes in Toyland. And it absolutely works.

Over grunge riffs, screeching screams and the tempting voices inside her head validating her defeat — “Kau dah cuba tapi gagal” and “Hidup ini macam sial” repeating softly — her moment of weakness is elevated by her dainty, eye-rolling, “I’m so over this bullshit” vocal performance. Though the world’s unfair vengeance seems never-ending, Eff later gains enough confidence to allure the antagonists with threatening bravado: “Tolong jangan datang sini / Musnah kau nanti.” It’s angry but avoids the emptiness of capitalised female rage (like a billionaire trademarking a TikTok-coined term). It’s pop but remains true to punk as an instrument. It’s vengeful but also mindful of the very human condition that sometimes all we can do is accept defeat. Yet, it’s not the end of everything. With what Hawa has offered so far leading up to her debut album, her insouciantly charismatic persona is glowing in this yawningly male-dominated scene. Simply put: You can’t kill Eff Hakim.