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As with a lot of you, I spent 95% of 2020 stuck inside my own home. Luckily, this gave me plenty of time to discover and cement my love for queer rock. Here, I'll be discussing a few acts that I fell in love with over the past year.
Honorable mention - Enter Shikari
Let's preface this by saying Enter Shikari doesn't identify as a queer act at all, and if I'm not mistaken, none of the members belong to the LGBTQ+ community. That didn't stop them from making my favorite gay banger of the year, "satellites* *". Lead singer Rou Reynolds borrowed from a friends experiences of being afraid to come out in public. As someone who's also been afraid to hold hands with his partner in public, this one hit me hard.
Against Me! is a punk band that found lots of success in the early 2000's. Singer Laura Jane Grace announced she was transgender back in 2012. The next album released by the band after the announcement was 2014's Transgender Dysphoria Blues, which detailed the singer's emotions surrounding the transition. Instead of receiving backlash due to the album's subject matter, fans of the band praised it for being "as good as their old stuff" which is the most punk rock fan statement I can think of. The song "Black Me Out" was my introduction to the band, and I can't recommend it enough. Lyrically, it is such a damn good queer anthem for cutting out the people in your life that try to fit you into their own box.
#2 - Proper.
Proper. is an emo band composed of all black members. While a lot of their songs fit comfy in that "emo" label, I personally love how unafraid they are to experiment with their sound. Lead singer Erik Garlington uses this platform to vocalize the struggles he fights in being black and queer. My favorite track of theirs so far is "A$AP Rocky Type Beat", which starts with the strong hook of "Oh god, I'm back on my bullshit." It hits hard and fast both musically and lyrically.
#1 - Shamir
#1 - Shamir
Speaking of getting experimental, holy crap was Shamir a light in the darkness this year. Unlike other acts on this list, the non-binary Shamir's lyrics aren't about his being queer, but more about the individual aspects of his own personality. Songs like "Hell" and "I Wonder" are both bangers, but I have to recommend "On The Regular" out of all of them. It has a very specific 90's feel that you can't help but love.
| What music did you discover last year? Any dope queer acts I should check out? Comment away! |
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Freakish Uproar
That Shamir song is an absolute banger, and the video is artistically adorable. I really enjoyed his self-titled album from last year :D