In what's both no doubt a blessing and a curse, Sarah Jickling has a lot she's dealing with on multiple fronts. 

Artistically, she's ever-busy with the solo project known as Sarah Jickling and Her Good Bad Luck—a sophomore album The Family Curse was released at the beginning of November. 

When not on stage she's been a passionate and unflinching advocate for mental health. In a What's In Your Fridge last year, she noted that she uses music to help raise awareness: "It’s my bad luck (aka my bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder and OCD) that got me to the good place I’m at now. I recently released my first solo album, When I Get Better, which documents my bipolar recovery journey. 

She went on to note: "You can find me around Vancouver in hospital waiting rooms and pole-dancing studios."

Jickling's new video for "Villain" suggests that she wasn't joking about the pole dancing. The clip was shot DIY-style at her house, and she indeed works the pole like it's not her first rodeo. 

In a statement released with the song, Jickling reveals that the song is part of an ongoing healing process. 

The Family Curse examines mental illness and intergenerational trauma, with Jickling looking back at childhood experiences through the prism of her family's history of bipolar disorder. 

Of "Villain", she says: "There was a period in my life where I felt like I was watching myself from far away, totally out of control. Depression and anger had turned me into someone I didn't recognize, and I remember thinking over and over, 'This time I'm the villain.’ I had a habit of smashing all of the dishes in my house, so for this song we used samples of actual plates smashing as percussion. I worked on this song with Laura Smith (Rococode), Carol Lynne Quinn (High Love) and Greg McLeod, and they all pushed me to go places that were scary and uncomfortable at first, but ultimately powerful." 

The overwhelming disruption sometimes caused by mental illness served as an inspiration for the "Villain" video: "Lyrically and musically, ''Villain' reveals a side of me that I don't normally want to show people. Clinically they are my borderline personality disorder symptoms, but most people just see a 'crazy b*tch.' I have just started to learn Russian exotic dance, and I felt like this style was perfect for exploring my inner villain. We filmed the whole thing in my house, and yes, I am 6'6" in those heels."

Yes, Jickling stands tall in "Villain", and—fittingly for someone with a lot going on—in more ways than one.