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.
As this year’s beloved Halloweekend celebration rages on, so too does the fight against the violent injustice facing the Palestinian people. Hopefully these tracks can keep spirits afloat as folks strive for peace and liberation.
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 listening for hours to come.
Press on with the biweekly Queer Music Mixtape:
Sexploration: The Musical by Baby Tate
Baby Tate is having a blast showing off her lyrical prowess (and a solid “pansexual prance”) on this short, sweet new visual EP. From the sexually liberating “Luv Everybody” to the perfect follicle-focused silliness of “Wig”, Baby Tate is talking her sh*t in the most fun way.
Stream Baby Tate on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
RelatedDon’t worry, it’s all fun and games for ‘Ms. Pat Settle It’
Violence EP by FIGHTMASTER
After starring turns on Grey’s Anatomy and Hulu’s Shrill and years as half of the music duo Twin, E.R. Fightmaster has pulled all of their extensive talents together for their most personal artistic project yet. “While creating this album I tried to infuse vintage rock, folk, and funk into a more modern sound,” they explain. “My vocal tracks are informed by the altos that inspire me: Chrissie Hynde, Joan Jett, Annie Lennox, and Tracy Chapman. While building harmony walls, I channeled artists I grew up listening to like Fleetwood Mac, The Beach Boys and the Temptations. I craft each song instrument by instrument, lyric by lyric, with a lot of love.”
Stream FIGHTMASTER on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
“Lethal Woman” by Dove Cameron
Dove Cameron has the perfect Halloween party playlist entry for anyone looking to let a gorgeous woman kill them this Halloween (a.k.a all of us?). Of the track’s origin, Dove shares, “I wrote this song after meeting a woman one night who immediately cast a spell on me. I wanted to encapsulate that “time stands still” lightning in a bottle moment of knowing you have no choice but to let yourself be swept away by someone’s energy. I’m opening the album rollout with this track as a sexy ode to powerful women everywhere. Wild cosmic women: you made me who I am.”
Stream Dove Cameron on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
“Affection” by Chrissy Chlapecka
Between using this scary movie devotional aesthetic, having guest spots from indie pop faves like RYL0 and Sabby Sousa, and just being unspeakably hot, Chrissy Chlapecka and her latest music video are coming for the 2023 spooky season bop crown with a vengeance. If folks started with any doubt about Chrissy’s TikTok star-to-popstar turn this year, her putting out five absolutely incredible singles in a row have surely shut them up.
Stream Chrissy Chlapecka on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
Related“Approaching music in a “genre-less” sense is sensational and liberating.”
The Secret To Life by FIZZ
Eclectic UK supergroup FIZZ (made up of musicians dodie, Orla Gartland, Martin Luke Brown, and Greta Isaac) has finally landed with their super debut LP, The Secret To Life. Throughout its 12-track run, the album flows through the familiar sounds of each of its members while regularly coming to form something different than the sum of its parts — something giddily, unabashedly fun.
Stream FIZZ on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
“malware” by awfultune
“i met sarah in the bathroom” singer awfultune is taking things back to her roots in the visual for her new song “malware”, a touching collage that’s equal parts home video and music video. The song hits at that mental space after introspection has met overthinking, where the internal work has turned into working yourself to the bone, and where you wish there were a way to just wipe away whatever bug has your software on the fritz.
Stream awfultune on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
“In The City” by Charli XCX & Sam Smith
Charli has added yet another prominent queer artist to her extensive collab roster for a bit of pure poppy levity. “The song is about finding the people you truly love and connect with through wild nights out and partying in magical places,” she states. “It’s about feeling accepted, the magnificence of being welcomed into queer spaces and those once in a lifetime people you get to meet when you’re there.”
Stream Charli XCX on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
Stream Sam Smith on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
“Perfect” by The Veronicas
Pivoting from the easy electropop sounds of their 2021 album HUMAN, The Veronicas are back in an edgier, more alt sound à la The Secret Life Of. It’s a solid choice, getting back to their biggest LP to date and keeping up well with The Youth™ in a Happier Than Ever/Guts/Snow Angel landscape. As this legendary outfit repeats in the refrain, “Perfect’s going out of style.”
Stream The Veronicas on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
Last Resort by RYL0
At last, the RYL0ves have reached their promised land. After a string of banging singles (“People Who Don’t Love Me” and “Loud Sex” have to be triple platinum in this household by now), RYL0’s first mixtape set firmly in her pop girl power is a triumph. As wide as this artist’s experimental range has been, this sound isn’t a side we’re anywhere near ready to part with just yet.
Stream RYL0 on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
RelatedWith their new single “Loud Sex” hot off the presses, now is the perfect time for new listeners to get to know RYL0.
“Bolo Bolo” by Vardaan Arora
“It’s OK If You Forget Me” singer Vardaan Arora is letting his cultural connections shine in this latest single. With smoky, sultry vocals and a catchy Hindi refrain, this fresh “bilingual banger” is a new shining gem in Vardaan’s rapidly expanding discography.
Stream Vardaan Arora on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
KAIEN by Kaien Cruz
Indie R&B artist Kaien Cruz’s debut LP captures the full breadth of their journey to this starring musical moment. In their own words, “KAIEN is a culmination of the diverse range of ebbs and flows I’ve experienced throughout my life thus far – love, heartbreak, bliss, misery, and everything that lies in the space between. I’ve been composing this body of work for years now, and it feels so surreal that I finally get to share it with the world. Genre bending, smooth vocals, and honest lyrics are my way of creating something for everyone to connect to.”
Stream Kaien Cruz on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
“Months and Months” by John Conlin
In addition to the solid 2010s-style synth pop production, John Conlin’s voice has this bit of levity and sweetness in it that can’t help but turn even his lovelorn tunes into pure fun. “Months and Months” joins tracks like “Hopeful Romantic” and “Your Car” in establishing Conlin’s discography as exceptional undiscovered ear-candy.
Stream John Conlin on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
“ACID TAB” by Julianna Joy
Julianna Joy has spent her latest era trying on new and interesting sounds that fans of her earlier, more fruit-flavored work (i.e. “Cherry Bomb” and “Orange”) would do well to catch up on. Joy has followed the rocky eclecticism of “APOLLO” and the tenderness of “CAR CRASH DREAMS” with “ACID TAB”, a languid groove built on bass licks and double entendre.
Stream Julianna Joy on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
“the end” by Matty Marz
Right off the glitchy, bubbly single “m.w.u”, Matty Marz is flaunting their range with this new dark electronic track. Over gorgeous production from Ruens, Matty’s voice takes on completely new shapes and colors perfect for widening their growing audience of girls and gays with taste.
Stream Matty Marz on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
Go seek the secret of life and join us back here next time for another biweekly Queer Music Mixtape!
Keep the tunes going with our official Queer Music Mixtape playlist: