If anyone is interested in discovering some trans musicians who aren't c*vetown especially if ur into punk/pop punk/emo/indie/queercore/folk punk music then boy do I have the playlist for you!
This is a work in progress playlist I've been making of trans + nonbinary artists :3 only canonically and out trans artists not people who there's speculation about. Ftm, mtf and nonbinary artists included!
There's some popular artists and some less well known ones on there so hope u enjoy!
honesty hour: i fkn love being in an all trans-masc nonbinary band that all relate strongly to or use lesbian/sapphic ids.
wholesome as shit.
if you wanna listen to our sad lesbian music, please do. we’re based in the midwestern US but tour as often as we can, so come say hi at a show if you get the chance💕
I liked PWR BTTM because they weren't just queer, but they were also trans and very open about it. Idk a lot of trans bands with similar styles but I know two and I'm sure others know some as well, so ppl could reblog/reply with one they know. (These are openly trans bands with similar styles to PWR BTTM) List: Ezra Furman Little Star
Also while we’re still on the topic of bands with good LGBT members, another band from Portland with a trans member is Little Star. I believe it’s the lead vocalist/guitarist that is a trans guy. I really recommend giving their newest album a listen. I’m bad with defining bands by genres, so I’ll just say it’s really nice and calming music to listen to, and I recommend it to everyone to at least give a shot.
Sweeping Exits has released their first full length album, Glitter and Blood, via Matriarch Queen Records this month. Two years in the works, it comes as a follow up to The Projectionist, an EP which began the tale told by frontwoman Mira Glitterhound. Click below to read the full review.
For proper backstory, it’s important to know that The Projectionist tells of a female vampire who works as a projectionist in a movie theater. When she sees, or interacts with misogynistic men, she attacks and drinks their blood. It may just feel like another horror tale, but it holds much more meaning and significance for Mira, as she said in an interview with Punktastic, “I experience harassment, threats, violence and dehumanizing mockery on a daily basis. These experiences make me feel afraid, angry, helpless. When I write, I create a world where the queers have all the power, because we’re all vampires. It helps me psychologically to be able to escape into this world, and I hope it will help other people when they listen.”
Glitter and Blood continues within this concept and tale, introducing with the line, “Now, let me tell you a story,” on their first track “Desmond (Birth),” which also contains lyrics like, “I am not like you,” which are sung dramatically and given emphasis in the song, giving to the listener a distinct feeling of the queer tale Mira has mentioned expressing through Sweeping Exit’s music. They introduce themselves in this track as having the same slower and darker manner that filled most of their first EP, but that quickly changes when it picks up in the second song, “Teachers.” A song that gives strong Rocky Horror Picture Show vibes – as does most of their music.
The third track, “I Only Dream in Black & White,” starts to bring in the hints of horror and vampires, followed by a slower but still horror based track, “Lady Death,” which takes a turn from just the glam punk style, to a haunting sound of violins. “Miami Beach,” their first single released from the album, brings to mind a feeling of 80’s music you’d hear off a movie soundtrack, but still keeps within the ambiance of the rest of their music.
The eighth track, “Bigotry & Barbeque,” truly represents the storyline of a vampire murdering misogynistic men, with lines like “They were saying hateful things, they wanted me to hear them. They wanted me to be afraid, but I was not afraid, I could never be their victim. They didn’t see my fangs, it was them who should be afraid.” And it continues on to follow the story of the undead woman devouring them in graphic detail. Through this song, Mira has truly emphasized her goal with this album of “[reflecting my] queer experience as well as my personal ambitions,” while also “[allowing] the listener to disappear into a vampiric fantasy world.” (Upset Magazine).
Starting at the ninth track, “Vampire In Love,” the album takes a firm turn for royalty, mentioning “I see you’re out on a killing spree at the estate of the queen.” It’s emphasized in the following track, “The Palace,” (check out the music video here!) where vampires have seemed to converge to feed off the humans begging to get in from outside. In a melodic melancholy tune, the eleventh track, “When We Die In The Dark Light,” stays within the castle walls, but focuses on the feeling of hopelessness and sorrow, even when the music picks up a little. Its play with keyboard and violins makes the track interesting musically, and it’s a song that truly draws the listener in. As is consistent for the album, the next track, “The Queen’s Ball,” picks up into a brighter style, a song truly meant to play at a ball when the guests feel energetic and ready to dance ‘til they bleed.
“I Can’t Leave You Here,” builds itself up with an audio clip from the film Black Sunday, quoting the witches death scene. The song tells of death and feelings for the person who is at their end, making the audio clip gain more emphasis in its importance to the song. The fourteenth track, “How Does It Feel?” brings in an older punk rock feel, spreading the variety of musical styles even further for Sweeping Exits on their debut album, all while keeping within the boundaries necessary to make an album cohesive. In “I Am The Queen,” listeners are brought back to the vampire royalty, where the narrator becomes the Queen and tells of their new reign, as well as their sadness at the loss of Lady Death. This track ends with them saying they’ll be taking over the human world, no longer dooming the vampire world to live in the shadows.
Yet the final track, “Ghost (New Mourning),” is mournful in both lyrics and the instrumental, and brings back the melodic feel of “When We Die In The Dark Light.” It lets the story and album fade out in a way that will likely impact any listener who goes through the album piece by piece. A true tale of horror, it’s overall a true “vampiric fantasy,” but is so much more, too. The songs throughout this 16-track album all stay true to Mira’s intention of showing the struggles of being trans - of being queer - in our current society. Music is truly a powerful way to make a point against bigotry; its ability to express through even just the tune of a song can leave listeners with a better understanding of the hardships queer people face, and the emotions it leaves them with.
Hey since everyone is talking about lgbt+ bands that are good, I’d like to take a moment to mention Sweeping Exits again. They’re a glam punk band from Portland, and the frontwoman is a trans girl, and there’s at least one other trans member and some cis girls involved (the lineup isn’t always clear). Mira, the aforementioned frontwoman, is incredibly sweet and talented and deserves so much more recognition for her music and the things she says in it (and out of the music) about being trans. They’re releasing a full length album on June 9th called Glitter and Blood, which is in the same verse of their ep The Projectionist (listen here). They’ve already released a single, Miami Beach, which is amazing, but doesn’t even begin to cover the awesome songs on the album (trust me, I’ve listened to G&B already and it’s fucking incredible). Both the EP and the album are based around a horror tale of a vampire girl who devours misogynistic men, or as Mira said in an interview with Upset Magazine recently, “’Glitter & Blood’ is a mutated version of my life story. It reflects the queer experience as well as my personal ambitions, and allows the listener to disappear into a vampiric fantasy world.” She’s also said, in an interview with Punktastic about The Projectionist, “I experience harassment, threats, violence and dehumanizing mockery on a daily basis. These experiences make me feel afraid, angry, helpless. When I write I create a world where the queers have all the power, because we’re all vampires. It helps me psychologically to be able to escape into this world, and I hope it will help other people when they listen.”
So if you guys are really serious about wanting to support LGBT artists who are good people, then please check out this band and boost this post!
