New Boygenius, Sufjan Stevens, and More on the New Queer Music Mixtape

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

This latest mixtape features new projects from some of today’s most popular queer acts like boygenius and Troye Sivan, as well as fresh singles from trans trailblazers like Laura Jane Grace and Teddy Geiger. Filling out the roster are plenty of pop’s coolest up-and-comers and a few artists ready to get spooky season started a little early.

We’ve included Instagram links in each byline, streaming links below for your convenience, and a full Queer Music Mixtape playlist from our Spotify page to keep you rocking out for hours to come!

Drop the needle on the biweekly Queer Music Mixtape:

The Rest EP by boygenius

Seven months after their critically-acclaimed debut LP the record, the boys are keeping their sapphics satisfied with a brief collection of tracks very appropriately titled the rest. With tracks like “Afraid of Heights” and “Voyager”, the band makes good on the best lovelorn bits of the record, while EP closer “powers” sees the trio mythologizing their journey and the power they’ve gained through their bond along the way.

Stream boygenius on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Javelin by Sufjan Stevens

Every queer person with two ears and a heart remembers where they were when they saw Sufjan’s poignant memorial post to his late partner, Evans Richardson, who passed away earlier this year. Between that heartache and Sufjan’s own recent struggle with Guillain-Barre syndrome, it’s incredible that this latest project exists at all. In spite of everything (or possibly because of it), this master of melancholy’s new album Javelin is a gorgeous, contemplative, and even hopeful collection that longtime fans and new listeners alike can treasure.

Stream Sufjan Stevens on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Something To Give Each Other by Troye Sivan

With this third album, Troye Sivan is bringing his horny-pop Bloom energy with a newfound level of specificity, vision, and unabashed sexuality. After his devastating 2020 breakup EP In A Dream, Troye has emerged healthier than ever and ready to claim the pop boy throne. Not only that — in his new music video for “One of Your Girls”, he’s putting his initials to good use and coming for the pop girl throne, too.

Stream Troye Sivan on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Related:

Troye Sivan lives out ‘gay men’s dream’ in his new music video

With his latest single, Troye Sivan is tapping into a painfully relatable queer experience: having a crush on a straight boy.

“I’ve Made Mistakes” by Teddy Geiger

As the clock ticks down towards upcoming LP Teresa, Teddy Geiger (stylized “teddy<3”) is continuing to build out the album’s dreamy, heartfelt world with “I’ve Made Mistakes”. The thrumming center of the track is a simple but powerful statement to an old flame: “I’ve made mistakes, but you’re not one of them.”

Stream teddy<3 on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

“Whine n Cry” & “Crash” by Keiynan

After the dual release of August singles “Come Papi” and “Lessons”, actor/singer Keiynan Lonsdale (now sans Lonsdale) is here with another half sexy/half sentimental pair of drops. While “Whine n Cry” gets you moving your body through the hurt, “Crash” brings it all rushing back when the party’s over. Very Sasha Fierce “Single Ladies”/”If I Were A Boy” of him.

Stream Keiynan on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

“Dysphoria Hoodie” by Laura Jane Grace

Against Me! frontwoman and trans musical legend Laura Jane Grace speaks to a piece of wardrobe ubiquity in her newest single. “Any trans person out there knows what a dysphoria hoodie is,” Grace notes. “Wrap yourself up in it like a blanket anywhere you go. Make your flesh become cotton. Instant protection from the outside world.”

Stream Laura Jane Grace on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

i’ll be fine if i want to by Miki Ratsula

After a string of well-loved singles including the introspective “if i blame myself” and the more rebellious “lied to your therapist”, Miki Ratsula’s sophomore album is finally ours to enjoy. Featuring heartfelt takes on their queer journey and a beautifully confessional air throughout, i’ll be fine if i want to is a must-listen for anyone ready to feel.

Stream Miki Ratsula on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Blue EP by Johnny Manuel

Singing contestant-turned-solo standout Johnny Manuel has taken his masterful R&B stylings to new heights on this sophomore EP. “With last year’s Younger Skin EP I was mainly focused on telling my story and introducing my authentic self to the masses, but with Blue my focus was to hone in on the production and solidify a unique sonic direction for myself in the R&B landscape,” Manuel explains. “Through the process of creating it, I understand myself more and more, and now this is just the beginning of my journey.”

Stream Johnny Manuel on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Related:

This artist blossoms in new EP with R&B roots

Johnny Manuel brings more confidence and the same immense talent to his EP ‘Blue’ that marks the start of a new era for the R&B artist.

Live For Me EP by Omar Apollo

In just four songs, Omar Apollo covers heartache, coming out, trauma, and living through it all as best as one can. Throughout his new EP, Apollo is riding soft R&B beats and keeping in touch with the open emotional heart that made his track “Evergreen (You Didn’t Deserve Me At All)” a viral hit. He’s also keeping in touch with the thirst trapping that helped popularize him, but that’s advertising.

Stream Omar Apollo on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Gag Reflex by Adrian Xpression

From the high energy pump of “Walk Witta Switch” down to the truth of closing track “When I Die”, ATL creative Adrian Xpression’s new album Gag Reflex is a scintillating ride. While “Drag Ban” tackles queerness in the political sphere, songs like “Gag Reflex” and lead single “Too Cunt” are helping keep the bitch track alive and well.

Stream Adrian Xpression on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

“SIDE EYE” by RYL0 ft. HYRA

It’s almost Last Resort time, RYL0VEs! Just one week out from her upcoming album, RYL0 is bringing the heat with this hip-shaking collab with “AIR U BREATHE” singer HYRA. This duo might just be giving a bit of side eye, but they’ve got our full attention.

Stream RYL0 on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Stream HYRA on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Related:

Rising Popstar RYL0 is Ready to Get Loud

With their new single “Loud Sex” hot off the presses, now is the perfect time for new listeners to get to know RYL0.

“VEGAS” by AlexZone

The lights in Las Vegas got a little brighter this summer with the arrival of formerly Chicago-based fave AlexZone. Between this banging ode to the City of Sin (with an extra dose of RYL0 in the writing credits) and upcoming single “Jackpot”, this artist is doing his new digs proud.

Stream AlexZone on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

“Vicious” by Sabby Sousa

The “HBIC” herself isn’t ready to let the girls breathe just yet. Hot off of shows with fellow pop besties AlexZone and RYL0, Sabby is once again talking her hot pink sh*t and letting out her vicious side. Long live the Hot Barbie Summer!

Stream Sabby Sousa on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

“Fangs” by Miss Toto

Drag royalty Miss Toto is back and serving it in honor of the gays who celebrate Halloween all month long (as we should!). There are a million puns to be made about this track having bite or Toto coming for our necks, but the refrain really sums it up best: “It’s giving fangs.”

Stream Miss Toto on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

“Cowboy Mama” by Trophy Wives

In their introductory single, tropical Western pop duo Trophy Wives (made up of queer artists Rock and Luca) are delivering cool down-home vibes for the girls to saddle up to. With this debut being produced by noted Ally™ Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons, something tells us we’ll be seeing more from these two soon.

Stream Trophy Wives on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

“Final Girl” by Eddie the Kidd

Many of us have been begging for years for an influx of new spooky Halloween bops, and it seems this year we may actually have our wishes granted. While a few of the season’s scary good releases are still a couple weeks off, Eddie the Kidd is helping bring the spirit with this cutting dance track.

Stream Eddie the Kidd on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

“Karma” by Michael Medrano

Too-hot-to-handle “Disco Sleaze” singer Michael Medrano is entering his new era ready to kill. “KARMA” combines a frenetic beat and embittered, aloof verses to make something part floorfiller and part razor sharp industry tell-off. Its well-teased music video is still a week away from release, but the odds of this banger releasing its grip on us between now and then feel near nonexistent.

Stream Michael Medrano on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Make sure to wash your dysphoria hoodie this week and join us back here next time for another biweekly Queer Music Mixtape!

Keep the tunes going with our official Queer Music Mixtape playlist: