I was exhausted from my sixth night of insomnia when I listened to Mikey Moo’s Fresh Idiot. Night before I spent a couple of hours playing guitar along with a room full of other queer, trans, gender expansive and non-binary people. This was the second session I went to with this group. It was magickal. A tribal circle of tangled bloodlines and similar scars. I was so wired after this night of queer music that I just simply could not sleep. That question that Mikey Moo seems to ask was on my mind.
Each track that Michael Lee (Young Evils), Nicki Danger (Pink Parts, Glitterbang) and Scott Helgason (Final Body, Frond, Young Evils) dive deeply into this question. Uncomfortable Silence throws glitter upon that invisible elephant in the room. Skip The Pretend is that tension between passion and rejection under a all seeing eye. And eight more beautiful tracks to shimmer psych pop/rock upon our shared reality.
The overall sound of the album is a balance of glamorous and groove shake. Each song flows with that road trip excitement and lazy summer vibe with the windows down. They explore those themes of hiding behind a costume of normal, crushes that have crushed us, and what happens when this cruel world manages to get under our protective shell.
After one listen of Fresh Idiot, I think queer music is not a way songs are written, a chord progression, or lyrics about frustrated gender or sexuality issues about kissing boys, girls or theys. Queer music is about steadfast evolution to remove those lingering shards of cocoon from which we bloom. It is about demanding our space that was our birthright. It is a fifth chakra cleansing scream that harmonizes with our cosmos.
You can listen to or purchase the single Uncomfortable Silence on Bandcamp. You can find videos of it and The Motions on Mikey Moo’s YouTube channel. The full album Fresh Idiot comes out on May 31st on Killroom Records. A perfect addition to any Pride Month’s soundtrack.
What is queer music?
Paper Phoenix ink 