New Angelica Ross, Chappell Roan, and More on This Week’s Queer Music Mixtape

Welcome back to INTO’s Queer Music Mixtape, your #1 hub for all things new LGBTQ+ music. Here, we’re covering the hottest releases of the week in one handy guide.

This week brought us another great crop of releases as artists wind up for summer. It’s not all hot girl tracks and beachside bops, of course; queer fave singer-songwriters like Cavetown and Leith Ross are helping usher in the new season with songs like a cool breeze.

Whether you’re seeking a gay club moment to make you sweat or a touching tune to gets you misty-eyed, we’ve got you covered. We’ve included Instagram links in each byline and streaming links below for your convenience!

Check out the gays’ musical slays on this week’s Queer Music Mixtape:

“Purrr” by Angelica Ross

Pose alum Angelica Ross is back in her original music bag with “Purrr”, the follow-up to her techno-house single “Fierce” with Ultra Naté and Mila Jam released earlier this year. This new solo single is no less ferocity-packed than her previous trio track, of course; between empowered lines like “a basic bitch could never, everything’s a ten” and Alx Stefano production that nods to “I Feel Love” by way of “Summer Renaissance”, Miss Ross didn’t come to play. She stepped off the stage after her history-making Broadway stint last year and said, “Let me show the girls what range is.”

Stream Angelica Ross on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

“Red Wine Supernova” by Chappell Roan

What do you do when you can’t decide which concept to take on for your new music video? Use them all, of course! In the video for her rocking new single “Red Wine Supernova”, Chappell Roan plays two aspects of the same seduction: a “Brigitte Bardot”-referencing playboy and a vampire putting “her canine teeth in the side of [her] neck”. In addition to the playboy and vampire ideas, she also had a magic concept for the video (called to with the super suggestive line “I heard you like magic? I’ve got a wand and a rabbit!”) which made its way into the single artwork and photoshoot. Sometimes it’s magical how it all comes together!

Stream Chappell Roan on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

“Tears in the Moonlight” by Kelechi

With “Tears in the Moonlight”, Kelechi continues to establish himself as a contemporary of acts like VINCINT and Leland in the beloved genre of queer synth pop romance. It’s that classic lovelorn male R&B for the modern age; if Luther Vandross had been born 40 years later with just a touch more sugar in the tank, he would be lighting this genre up. But we digress! Kelechi’s voice is lovely as ever, and his energy that made “Everybody Wants It” with Zee Machine a smash is on full display here.

Stream Kelechi on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Gag Order by Kesha

On Gag Order, Kesha shows off the full range of the lyrical skill she’s had to hone for the past near-decade of saying all she needs to say while giving nothing legally damaging away. She displays these poetic gymnastics over a darker, more measured sound that trades in much of her youthful vigor from past albums for a kind of embittered acceptance of it all, like dark chocolate made sonic. Gag Order doesn’t hide behind a smile or leave her troubles at the club doors. A full essay could (and should) be written about many of the same fans who acted like they were rallying around her in her 2017 “Praying” era turning around and helping Dr. Luke get viral hits, #1s, and Grammy noms by way of Kim Petras and Doja Cat, but this isn’t the space for that. This is her moment. And while this might not be the album that fans of her early radio hits are looking for, it’s the one they deserve.

Stream Kesha on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Related:

Kesha Describes New Album ‘Gag Order’ as the ‘Most Intimate Thing I’ve Ever Created’

“I feel as if there has been an implied gag order for a very long time now.”

KAYTRAMINÉ by KAYTRANADA & Aminé

There’s something about two artists who just make each other shine: Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, St. Vincent and David Byrne, Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett, etc. etc. etc. KAYTRAMINÉ, the new project from Grammy-winning producer KAYTRANADA and “Caroline” rapper Aminé, is the definition of maximizing a joint slay. A batch of interesting features including Pharrell, Snoop Dogg, and Freddie Gibbs certainly don’t hurt, either! Even if clocking in at just over a half-hour, this project is vibe after vibe after vibe.

Stream KAYTRANADA on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Stream Aminé on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

“Dear Insecurity” by Brandy Clark & Brandi Carlile

The world’s best lesbian Americana music duo made up of only people named Brand(i/y) is BACK, baby!! The two released a smoky, simmering prairie tune together back in 2020 called “Same Devil”. In contrast, this new song is a traditional ballad softly addressed to their inner saboteurs. The pair seems to balance each other out in a real way; while Carlile brings some untouchable songwriting chops to the table, she praises Clark’s ability to edit and synthesize down to the heart of their words. In a recent LA Times interview, Carlile states, “[Brandy] takes all the information and all the feelings, and she knows what the important ones are. I haven’t been able to really move past the narcissism of thinking they’re all important, which is why every other song of mine goes on for 6½ minutes.” In fairness, we’d take a 6½-minute collab from this pair any day.

Stream Brandy Clark on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Stream Brandi Carlile on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

“Glacier Meadow” by Cavetown & Field Medic

There’s chill, and then there’s a Cavetown and Field Medic track called “Glacier Meadow”. The track spawned from a 3-minute recording made from the two backstage at Boston’s Royale venue in 2019 consisting solely of the looping line, “I decided to turn my affection towards you”. Here, the lyrics haven’t been altered much, with only the inclusion of a verse on the object of the song’s affections, her perfume being the “glacier meadow” in question. Of the song being rediscovered after three long years of the pandemic, Cavetown says, “It’s finally being unveiled at just the right time. The dust is clearing and we can all finally see the ‘Glacier Meadow’ together.”

Stream Cavetown on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Stream Field Medic on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

To Learn by Leith Ross

It’s a softboy TikTok tune international holiday. Since recording their viral “We’ll Never Have Sex” snippet in 2021, this songwriter has had the platform (and their nearly half a million followers on it) in a stranglehold. Now, they’re coming fully into their own on their sophomore album, To Learn. The gentle, evocative work speaks for itself better than I can put into words, and the story throughout the album’s music videos of Leith having their hair lovingly and carefully sheared by the community around them is queer metaphoric perfection.

Stream Leith Ross on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

SCION i by Josh Lumsden

On his debut SCION i EP, singer Josh Lumsden flaunts features from folks like Rupaul’s Drag Race winner Yvie Oddly and “House of Air” singer Brendan Maclean. As nice as it is to have these names under his belt, Lumsden’s musical strength is his own; there’s a steady beating heart in the dark pop throughout the EP, and his eye-catching visuals online denote an artist on the edge of breaking through. It’s exciting, it’s sexy, and it’s queer as hell.

Stream Josh Lumdsen on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Just Now by Homeschool

Today’s he/they of the day is a fun one. On their new EP, Homeschool explores identity and connection through young adulthood and contemporary queerness. The closing track, “Draggin'”, has every right to take over as the defacto he/they anthem. Meanwhile, “Hanger-on” is introspective and emotionally conflicted, but the chorus of “I just keep getting drunk with my friends, trying on a new dress, keep making a mess” kind of sounds like the dream to us.

Stream Homeschool on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Purpose by LÉA THE LEOX

The debut Purpose EP serves as an exciting entry from newcomer LÉA THE LEOX (“the x is silent bc I’m a Leo and I’m extra,” she writes on her Spotify artist page). On tracks like “Over Again” and “Topanga Blues”, the singer gives a pared down alternative to the current production-heavy pop-R&B field. The sonic clarity brings to mind softer tracks somewhere between a Yebba and a Kehlani. Of the title track, LÉA writes, “It documents my journey towards self-acceptance and realizing that my purpose in life is not just about success or achievements, but about the love and support of those around me. I hope this song can resonate with anyone who’s ever felt lost or unsure about their purpose.”

Stream LÉA THE LEOX on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Can’t Look Back by Jakk Fynn

While the majority of Jakk Fynn’s new Can’t Look Back EP has been released as singles, the title track is a completely new listen from the artist in which he reflects on his experiences as a Latinx transmasculine person growing up. Not just in the hardships of identity, but the fully rounded ins-and-outs of a history. “I frequently wonder about the people I’ve hurt, or those who’ve hurt me,” Fynn says. “I have to remind myself to accept that life is fluid and ever-flowing so I can better cope and quickly grow from my experiences.” Part of that acceptance is in the fact that you, indeed, can’t look back.

Stream Jakk Fynn on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Go dance away your tears in the moonlight and meet us back here next week for another Queer Music Mixtape!