This list brings you the now-no-longer marginalized voices to your media player! It’s time to broaden your musical horizons with some of the most interesting LGBTQ+ acts out there today, from L to Q! Sex, drugs, music-a-go-go!
L.
The Con by Tegan and Sara
An emotional rollercoaster of an album. Songs ranging from bubbly and poppy, to poignant and melancholy, the Canadian twin sister duo have been making music for almost two decades. This album, while managing to be sonically beautiful, expresses love songs devoid of pronouns, making it universal for anyone to listen and associate with. After all, everybody has felt love, and everybody’s felt it when it’s gone.
Favourite song: “Dark Comes Soon.”
G.
The Plague by Big Momma:
It doesn’t matter as much that Big Momma identifies as gay as much as it matters that this gay gangsta-rapper is criminally underrated. Bringing hardcore rappity-rap flows to your ears, Big Momma touches on dark and often morbid issues. The Plague packs such a punch that it manages to flip all of the tropes typically associated with oversaturated phallocentric themes found in gangster rap and flips it on its head. The weather is growing grimmer and darker by the day, so maybe adding this horror-core artist to your music-playing device may not be a bad idea.
Favourite Song: “Denata.”
B.
Fabulous Muscles by Xiu Xiu:
Xiu Xiu is definitely bringing some of the finest avant-garde music to the table, and weirdest at that. Fabulous Muscles is bold in its experimentation and fragmentation of typical lyrical structure, as it documents on lead singer Jamie Stewart’s personal experiences, masquerading behind beautiful, sentient, and original poetry. Xiu Xiu is definitely an acquired taste, but the title track on the album is one of the most simultaneously sad and beautiful songs ever written, revolving around an abusive same-sex relationship.
Favourite Song: “I Luv the Valley, OH!”
T.
Transgender Dysphoria Blues by Against Me!:
Against Me!’s latest effort Transgender Dysphoria Blues is both catchy and the band’s first release since lead singer transitioned from Tom James Gabel to Laura Jane Grace. A lot has changed in the band’s thematic content, however what came off as muffled gender displacement in their old songs transformed into full-blown transgender anthems, both celebrating and facing gender dysphoria. This album catapulted a mainstream act that celebrated the transgender way of life and made some tough-as-nails art out of the confusion.
Favourite Song: “Osama bin Laden as the Crucified Christ.”
Q.
Thee Official Limp Wrist Discography by Limp Wrist
Queer straight-edge hardcore bands sure are strange. It’s not because they identify as queer, or because they abstain from drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes. It’s because they managed to form a band where all members identify with these things and managed to play all the instruments required for a band. Often honoured as one of the best hardcore bands of all time, Limp Wrist’s brand of punk is abrasive, played with intense breakneck speed and humor. Thee Official Limp Wrist Discography has over 40 songs but only runs for about 35 minutes. Listen to it on your lunch break, although you won’t be satisfied when its done.
Favourite song: “Does Your Daddy Know?”
Zach Fenech, Staff Writer
