Our Top Picks of Queer Indie & Rock: Pride Month Edition

By Laurine Payet

Often limited to being perceived as a contributor to pop music solely, the LGBTQI+ community is slowly breaking the cliché following the breakthrough of a huge number of queer artists from different influences and genres. This week’s focus for Pride Month is on queer indie and rock artists. From bedroom indie rock to louder rock’n’roll, here are our current favourite tracks.

It is impossible not to start with the glorious winners of Eurovision 2021. The four-piece Måneskin was already a phenomenon in Italy before their success in front of the European crowd. All aged between 20 and 22, they made a name for themselves in 2017, finishing second at the Italian version of the talent show X-Factor. After releasing two albums, the alt-rock outlet blew the queer public’s mind with their performance of "Zitti E Buoni", clearly not caring about gender. They have, since then, topped several charts worldwide with their Arctic Monkeys and Harry Styles inspired discography.

No matter one’s point of view on nepotism, it is only fair to say that WILLOW’s come back with the track ‘t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l’ is a well-deserved success. She had already proven her musical talent when, aged 15, she released her debut album ‘ARDIPITHECUS’ where she was credited as sole songwriter and producer on more than half of the tracks. After forming the side project called ‘THE ANXIETY’ in 2020, a collaboration with Tyler Cole, she’s made a triumphant come back with ‘t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l’, featuring Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker on drums and serving as the first single for a fourth album.

On more of a softer side of rock music, the Swiss-born American singer-songwriter Soccer Mommy excels in her own vision of indie rock. Having toured with some of the biggest indie references, such as Vampire Weekend, Paramore or Wilco, the 24-year-old performer even played at one of Bernie Sanders's presidential rallies for his 2020 presidential campaign. She’s just released a cover of ‘Wide Open Spaces’, originally by The Chicks, infusing the song with her Nashville touch and making it your summer picnic anthem.

With a mix of psychedelic rock and indie music, the Canadian five-piece Fleece is here to serve us once again with a queer anthem. After two albums of what they call “gay rock music”, Fleece have since 2017 only released singles, ‘Love Song for The Haters’ being the first one. Frontman Matthew Rogers’ sings about letting go of a loved one in a blend of raw and soft textures, transporting us in a vault of peaceful feelings. The newly released ‘Do U Mind? (Leave the Light On)’ follows the musical direction taken by the previous singles, hopefully meaning the next album is on its way.

Two years after the release of the musical slap that the 8-minute track ‘Eye in the Wall’ was, Michael Alden Hadreas, known as Perfume Genius, still delivers incredibly varied pop-influenced art-rock. The 2020 album ‘Set My Heart on Fire Immediately’ was a homage to queer exploration by the American artist and received, understandably, some of the best critics of his career. A more electronic approach to the album ‘IMMEDIATELY remixes’ got released in March, featuring a different producer for each track, including the likes of A.G. Cook and Boy Harsher.

The French-born and raised Pomme is one of the most talented when it comes to folk rock. Famous for accompanying her melancholic voice by playing the harp herself on stage, Claire Pommet loves love and she will write and sing about it. While being one of the few singers on the French scene to be openly in a lesbian relationship, – with Canadian singer Safia Nolin - she affirms being “naturally comfortable with (her) homosexuality, for example, using female pronouns in (her) songs”. After a breakthrough debut in 2017, Pomme used her creative freedom to write an even more personal sophomore album ‘Les failles’. It’s a love album, a break-up album, an album for rainy days, an album for sunny days, but most importantly an album that will uncover your deepest emotions.

Finally, Sir Chloe delivered what was one of our favourite 2020 albums, all genres included. The American indie rock band started as an academic project, recording music in the college facilities. After only releasing music for a year, the American indie rock band released their debut ‘Party Favors’. Dry vocals on soft melodies, gritty guitars and a lot of reverb are what Party Favors is all about. Their song ‘Michelle’ recently blew up on TikTok, giving a massive push to the rising career of Sir Chloe.

After being almost exclusively made of young white men in four pieces, the indie and rock music scene has recently seen itself being taken over by the queer community, giving a new aspect to what used to lack contrast and inclusivity. There is now more varied stories and experiences to be shared through music.

Check out the full playlist of our favourite songs: