Once again, another Friday has come and with it is abundance of new music from LGBTQ+ and LGBTQ friendly musicians. This is coverage of music I know of. If you feel I might have missed any pertinent music, let us know on our social media.
First up is the album many of us have been waiting for: Lady Gaga’s Chromatica. As expected, the album does not disappoint. If you are a Lady Gaga fan, you will be pleased with Chromatica.
One of the songs worth noting is “Sour Candy,” Gaga’s collaboration with K-pop group, Blackpink. The song balances out the K-pop girls perfectly with Gaga. My only complaint is that the song is too short.
Another song worth putting on repeat is “Alice.” The chorus is really catchy with the lyrics, “My name isn’t Alice. But I’ll keep looking, keep looking for Wonderland.” In my opinion, this is in my top three Lady Gaga albums behind The Fame (which, of course, includes The Fame Monster) and Born This Way.
The next release is a double dose of Billie Joe Armstrong. As part of his “No Fun Mondays” series, which you find on Green Day’s YouTube channel, Armstrong released a single of his cover of the Bangles’ “Manic Monday.” Armstrong makes the song his own and it is just as good as the original.
The other release with Armstrong is Green Day’s cover of the 1979 Blondie hit, “Dreaming.” While this song has been covered before by the Smashing Pumpkins for their album, The Aeroplane Flies High, I like Green Day’s version better. That’s not to say that the Smashing Pumpkin’s version isn’t good, it’s great, in fact, but the Green Day cover is true to the original.
Also out this week is “New Best Friend” by Neon Trees. The song is the second single of the band’s forthcoming fourth studio album, I Can Feel You Forgetting Me. “New Best Friend” is a feel-good song for the summer. This is one of those songs you should feel free to turn up in your car with the windows down.
Dolly Parton dropped a new single, “When Life is Good Again,” which has was reported earlier by one of my fellow writers. All I am going to add to the previous coverage is that this is a much-needed song for what all of us are living through right now and leave it to Dolly to be the one to bring that message.
A release that came by surprise this week was a bonus track from the Japanese release of Britney Spears’ ninth studio album, Glory. The previously unreleased track was made available outside of Japan on Friday as a thank you from Spears to her fans for their #JusticeforGlory social media campaign.
Finally, actor and singer Keiynan Lonsdale released his debut album, Rainbow Boy. The album is the Love, Simon star’s “love letter to the queer, black community as well as to his younger self.” On the song, “I Confess My Love,” Lonsdale’s velvet smooth vocals are enough to make you swoon (if people do that anymore). “Gay Street Fighter” is a battle cry for the LGBTQ+ community with unapologetic graphic language. “Rhythm & Music,” with its high energy tempo will make you want to get and dance. Rainbow Boyis a promising debut album for Lonsdale and I, for one, will be watching his musical career.
Which of these new music releases will you be listening to? Let us know in the comments as well as on our social media accounts. Also, to serve as a reminder, if there’s any music you feel is relevant we missed, let us know.
Source: Green Day Official YouTube Channel, Smashing Pumpkins Official YouTube Channel, L.A. Times, Shore Fire Media,
Writer’s Note: This is the opinion of one contributing writer and may not reflect the views of Instinct Magazine itself or fellow contributors.
