When I look for new music, it’s rare to discover a diva recording in a new style, but that’s what I discovered this weekend. My partner and I went on a road trip to New Hampshire for a Tiffany concert. My partner was driving, putting him in charge of music. It was 80’s New Wave driving up and testosterone indie to dinner. After the restaurant, my partner probably wanted to keep me awake for company (not to stop me from complaining) so he allowed me to select an internet radio station for the remainder of the trip home. I chose to subject him to a Pride station of queer artists. He was a good sport and we had some laughs with many skips along the way.
Although, when I heard the wall of sound and emotionally-bare lyrics of “Serotonin” by Girl In Red, I was hooked. Is she pop? Indie? Hip-Hop? Rock? Alternative? Yes! Her album If I Could Make It Go Quiet, is all that and more. There’s fun songs like “I’ll Call You Mine” that appeals to my pop sensibilities and “.” with it’s old-school 70’s Laugh-In dance party vibe. I’m also a sucker for thumping ballads like “Midnight Love” or “Apartment 402.” However, it’s Girl In Red’s TMI “love” songs that have made me a fan. Never did I think I would go ga ga over a girl-on-girl, pissed-off, oral sex anthem like “Did You Come?,” while being completely amused by the quirky sound and selfless lyrics of letting an ex go when you’re a self-described “hornylovesickmess,” and completely on board when helping “You Stupid Bitch” realize that “the perfect one for you is me.”
Girl In Red could totally be the next Billie Eilish if she wanted but fortunately she ran out of fucks to give well before If I Could Make It Go Quiet even came out. She gives a positive yet angry voice to those suffering with mental health issues and the LGBTQIA+ community. Her best trait, in my gay opinion, is that she makes the music she wants instead of trying to fit into some Top 40 cookie cutter mold. There’s a little something for everybody here.
