New Charli XCX, The Japanese House, 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.

Pride month is officially at its end, and what a fun note to go out on. Not the Supreme Court ruling against LGBTQ+ rights (and student loan forgiveness [and affirmative action]) of course, but all of this great new music!

This week’s releases have everything: a 2010s pop resurrection, a melancholy super collab, and more queer EPs than you can handle. Whether you’re going out this weekend to send off the month right or staying in (possibly because a toxic smoke cloud is hanging over your region of the U.S.), we’ve got you covered.

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!

Buckle up for this week’s Queer Music Mixtape:

“Speed Drive” by Charli XCX

The Barbie rollout continues in full force this week and the queers are eating up it. On top of the Krispy Kreme collab, the life-sized dreamhouse, and the “Kenergy”-filled press tour, the soundtrack’s weekly drops have been giving us every single thing we need. While last week gave us the much anticipated Ice Spice x Nicki x Barbie Girl crossover, this week sees Charli XCX back in her automobile bag with “Speed Drive”. The track is reportedly going to be used to score a Barbie car chase, and who better to handle such a scene than the “Vroom Vroom” superstar herself?

Stream Charli XCX on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Related:

Barbie Feels the Cold Approach of Death in the New Barbie Trailer

So far, this looks like a movie that knows how absurd it is.

In The End It Always Does by The Japanese House

The Japanese House’s sophomore album sees singer Amber Bain coming her fully coming into her own and kicking the dreamy queer vibes up to a new level. This evolution is helped along by collaborators like Katie Gavin of MUNA on “Morning Pages” and Charli XCX on “Friends”. The George Daniel production is as evident here as ever, with the familiar gentle sounds developed in Bain’s Saw You in a Dream era being slightly updated with Daniel’s post-A Brief Inquiry sensibilities. The result is a clarity that allows Bain to shine like never before.

Stream The Japanese House on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

“SLAY” by Bonnie McKee

Bonnie McKee’s pop credentials as a songwriter (Kesha’s “C’mon”, Britney’s “Hold It Against Me”, your favorite Teenage Dream singles and much, much more) should see her venerated at some kind of saint, especially in regards to the pop princess resurgence of the early-’10s. Now, a decade later, McKee is opening up the vault to give us “SLAY”, a taste of pop history from an era that many of us miss dearly. If McKee’s upcoming Hot City album is as reverent of that period as we are, prepare for cover-to-cover hits.

Stream Bonnie McKee on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

“Nobody Loves Me” by Cavetown, mxmtoon, & Ricky Montgomery

These three LGBTQ+ indie faves head out on their Bittersweet Daze Tour in just a few weeks, and with artists like dodie and Tessa Violet joining along the way, it’s bound to be a great vibe. This week, they decided to give a preview of their tour harmony (and, presumably, a super cute show closer) with this lovelorn collab. The turn from “nobody loves me” into “nobody loves me like you do” gives this track an extra sentimental layer, which should be expected from such sentimental artists.

Stream Cavetown on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Stream mxmtoon on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Stream Ricky Montgomery on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

222 by Ralph

Canadian popstar Ralph reaches new heights of pop variety in her new angel-numbered EP, 222. From the Robyn/Prince-inspired opener to the closing ballad complete with choral backing, this “Scary Hot” singer let loose and found her way back to her path — as well as a new way forward. For more, check out our exclusive chat with the star!

Stream Ralph on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

“SoCal Girl” by Chase Icon

Chase Icon already had a spot on the universal “Hot Barbie Summer” playlist with tracks like “I’m Perfect” and “Like Me”, but she’s leaning fully into the doll of it all in “SoCal Girl”. From the plastic-straight bangs to literally stepping out of the Barbie box, this one has us ready to strut down Rodeo like we own the place.

Stream Chase Icon on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

“Curious?” by YawnyBlew & amir.

Brooklyn rap duo YawnyBlew and amir. are helping close out Pride month right with this sexy Madonna-inspired track. They’re giving confidence, they’re giving allure, and they’re giving questioning guys something to think long and hard about. “‘Curious?’ is for all the queer black and brown boys who wanted to be on TRL growing up,” Yawny writes. “For all the plus sized legends discouraged from being a pop star. You’re welcomed here.”

Stream YawnyBlew on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Stream amir. on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

“Don’t Call Me at a Party” by Liam Benayon

Full admission: I thought this song released weeks ago while I was away on vacation and lamented that I wouldn’t get to cover this absolute banger. Turns out that was just building up hype for the official drop this week — and consider it built! This scorned ode to nightlife FOMO and fake friends has an impossibly catchy hook and the savvy, thumping production to back it up (self-produced, naturally). For a double dose of new Benayon-produced indie pop goodness this week, check out Yavin‘s redux of his debut 2016 single, “Now & Then“.

Stream Liam Benayon on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

DIN by Tiberius b

Tiberius b’s music video saga continues with “HHB” (“hot, handsome, beautiful”), a gritty, almost primal solo trek through the city at night. In one Instagram post, the artist subtitles it as “Piss Narcissus”. It’s vulgar, it’s dark, and it’s got a complicated relationship with gender — story of our lives! “HHB” joins previous singles “Delicate People” and “Jetski” in exemplifying the mood of the new DIN EP, a project as complex, intimate, and beautifully messy as the trans experience itself.

Stream Tiberius b on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Girls Will Be Boys by Jules Paymer

“Mommy Issues” singer Jules Paymer has officially landed with their debut EP, Girls Will Be Boys. Full of confessional, accessible lyricism, this singer deals with deeply relatable LGBTQ+ experiences. Everything from messy relationships to gender expectations is laid out in bare detail. On “25”, they address the common (but uncommonly acknowledged) queer experience of being lost at an age that you never thought you’d live to see. They get it.

Stream Jules Paymer on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Go for a (safe) speedy drive and join us back here next week for another Queer Music Mixtape!

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