Openly LGBTQ+ artists are releasing tons of great music, now more than ever. To help you with this extremely good problem to have, them. is selecting the best songs released by queer musicians on every New Music Friday. This week, we’re highlighting tracks by Willow and Travis Barker, Elohim and Big Freedia, dodie, Backxwash and Ada Rook, Shaun Ross, India Jordan, Chav, Evann McIntosh, and Alein Boy. Scroll down below to see our regularly updated playlists on Spotify and Apple Music, and see earlier music roundups here.
Willow: “t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l” [ft. Travis Barker]
Willow is no stranger to the electric guitar. Since she first saw her own mother Jada Pinkett Smith front the nu-metal band Wicked Wisdom in the ‘90s, the young multi-hyphenate has regularly incorporated alt-rock sounds in her work. But with her new single “t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l,” Willow makes it loud and clear that her rock era is far from just a phase. Teaming up with Blink 182’s Travis Barker for the angsty track, she screams out biting lyrics about “snakes” who will “smile in my face then put your cig out on my back.” But the headbanger’s classic emo punch strikes a unique balance with Willow’s introspective writing style. Shifting perspectives, she turns a mirror to these transparent souls, forcing them to face their own reflection. “It’s clear to me now,” she sings, “You’re scared of me, wow.”
— Emma Carey
Elohim & Big Freedia: “Strut”
“Fuck the sidewalk, it’s a runway,” goes the hook of Elohim and Big Freedia’s new feel-yourself collab, “Strut.” The song, which coasts on a monochromatic synthline and just the faintest hint of dramatic strings, is repetitive like a mantra, and cool enough to be on fashion week runways and in socially-distanced clubs around the world. Big Freedia breaks through the cool monotone vibe with her signature vocals: “Girrrrl, you ate that,” she says on the track. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to pound the New York City pavement with this blaring in my ears.
— Michael Love Michael
dodie: “I Kissed Someone (It Wasn’t You)”
English singer-songwriter Dodie releases her debut album Build a Problem today, featuring the hauntingly heartbroken single “I Kissed Someone (It Wasn’t You).” Its surrealist music video, directed by Hazel Hayes, sees Dodie running through the motions of a series of post-breakup rebounds. As the chorus swirls into a whirlpool of doubts about moving on, Dodie faces an emptiness not just from the void of her former lover, but from within herself. “How could it be anyone but you?” she sings, her vocals reverberating as if it’s a thought that’s struggling to surface. Ultimately, she returns to the steady plucking of her verses, where she confronts her loss with a more level head. It’s like she’s treading along, just enough to keep her head above the water.
