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Author: Skye M.R.

  • If I Let It Quiet by Josaleigh Pollett

    If I Let It Quiet by Josaleigh Pollett

    Artist: Josaleigh Pollett

    Album: If I Let It Quiet

    Release: July 24, 2026; Audio Antihero

    Long distance partnership sounds like an impractical way to write and produce an album but Josaleigh Pollett and Jordan Watko have gotten it down to a science. Split between Salt Lake City, Utah and Osaka, Japan, If I Let It Quiet somehow provides a flowing exploration of gender, multiversal probability, and sleepless nights spent overthinking all wrapped in a cocoon of dreamy nostalgia despite the distance. Really, it’s what every fan of indie pop could ever wish for. I know, because I felt like this album was pulled straight from my frequent teenage bouts of daydreaming out of a rainy window, maladaptive style. 

    It helps, of course, that this is album number four for Josaleigh Pollett, but the evidence of doubt about the unconventional development of the album is there, particularly in the song “Second Guesser”. It’s a song for all the ruminators out there who have lost the person who could pull them out of their anxiety loops. Which, oddly, isn’t as devastating as it sounds. Like I said, the dreamy nostalgia of the music sort of lulls you into a taciturn existence of sorts. 

    The song that really stood out to me upon first listen was ‘Escape Routes’. Part of it was yet again the overthinker’s paradise of it all, but it had a sort of… optimistic element to it? To me, at least, but it is, of course, just a matter of perspective. There’s a sort of exhilaration when it comes to reckless leaping without a safety net. As the song says, “when you take out your escape routes, you must fight,” as if that isn’t the ultimate show of faith in your own abilities to get what you want. 

    In all, there’s a sort of frenetic energy about the album that leaves one jumping from one change to the next, one possibility to another, and the love and hope mainlined through it all. Which, I think, is the real appeal to this album. The hope for more and better. The hope of unburdened expression (gender or creative). Developing love for yourself and your creativity. Hell, even the acceptance and love of an unknowable universe. 

    Maybe that’s just me being a sucker. However, it’s been a while since an album that was so genuinely melancholic at its core invoked such a creative spark in me. What’s the point of all this overthinking and anxiety spirals if nothing changes, right? 

    Without bearing my soul too much here, I think at least one song from If I Let It Quiet would make it onto the playlist if my head was projected onto a movie screen. As for the song, I’ll keep that to myself. I’ve got to retain some element of mystery here.

  • Queering The Airwaves

    Queering The Airwaves

    Have you spent Pride Month wishing and hoping for something new and queer to listen to while you’re ironing your flags for marches? Better to come in with a noncomprehensive list of suggestions late than never, right? Besides, you should Hear Queer All Year, so even though it’s almost over, you can take these suggestions into next month, too. No one is going to stop you. I’ve made it a little easier and compiled some of my favorite songs from the artists mentioned into a playlist, which will be added to periodically. 

    For those of you interested in electropop, Die Shiny is a self-described ‘conscious art pop’ group based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Even though they’re just getting started in their career in surreal music made for anti-capitalistic, anti-AI queers, they’ve had a fucking amazing go of it so far. Maybe it’s because I am a human who wants the ruling class to be Embalmed, but the music they create is insanely relatable. All around, it is easy to get absorbed in the music and the message. 

    Speaking of artists with only a handful of incredible songs, cyberpunk duo Chromera is playing during an apocalypse near you! If you’ve ever done something completely normal, like bought groceries, and still felt that the world around you had turned into a dystopian hellscape, you’d probably get a kick out of Save Urself. There’s something so personal about imagining the song you’re listening to playing in some fucked up club scene in a dark dramedy. But hey, that’s just life as a nonbinary emo, I fear. 

    Ska? Ska anyone? Would anyone like some fucking ska??? JeR is here, queer, and ready to tell you to get with the fucking program. They’re not going to let you get away with being complacent. Music has always been a tool for protest and JER took the idea to heart. The thinly veiled threats in Say Gay or Say Goodnight are incredibly enjoyable when paired with that certain flare ska is known for. 

    Tay Jardine. What can I say about Tay Jardine? I’ve been a fan since 2010 when I first heard We Are the In Crowd and had the pleasure of seeing the band at Warped Tour. Tay definitely creates pop punk music for sad as fuck sapphics. I love all her projects, and I’m so excited to see what she comes up with next. If you’re looking for a set place to start, head over and listen to her self titled EP.

    Grunge pop band Gully Boys from Minnesota? A.K.A the hottest boy band in the midwest? If you’re looking to shake ass in a gay way, listen to Big Boobs. All around, Gully Boys proves to be just a fun romp in what feels like nostalgia but is probably just wistful imaginations of all the neopets we wouldn’t severely neglect this time, knowing what we know now. 

    I’m not too much of a genre buff, so forgive me if I’m wrong but Elio Mei is something of an indie folk anomaly. I certainly don’t know What’s Going On either, Elio, but I’m here for it. Their music invokes this sort of whimsical imaginary world while still remaining relatable in a queer clown sort of way. 

    Did someone say Lesbian Punk? A little old school as they’re a band from the 90s, but I’d be remiss not to mention the pioneers of the genre Team Dresch. As disheartening as a 30 year old song like I’m Illegal still being painfully relevant today is, it at least provides comfort that queer people have gotten through it before and we will make it through still. I’d give them a listen if you love girls and are mad at the government. Which I think would totally make an awesome Team Dresch t-shirt. 

    Another throwback and maybe someone you weren’t even aware had come out is David Archuleta. I know recommending someone of American Idol fame isn’t an original idea, but it’s as I said, maybe you didn’t know he was queer. Now you do! And while songs from his Mormon Heartthrob days are still worth a spin, I definitely will be listening to Creme Brulee on repeat even after Pride Month ends. (Sneaky book rec for his new memoir “Devout”).