We’re just a few weeks away from the (official) start to autumn, so there’s no better time to update your seasonal playlists with some new tunes from your favorite queer artists. Billboard Pride is proud to present the latest edition of Queer Jams of the Week, our roundup of some of the best new music releases from LGBTQ+ artists.
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From Lady Gaga’s spooky new single to Brandi Carlile’s long-awaited new solo release, check out just a few of our favorite releases from this week below:
Lady Gaga, “The Dead Dance”
Just when you thought the Mayhem was winding to a close, Lady Gaga gave it another jolt of life with her newest single “The Dead Dance.” Written for the second season of Wednesday, the track sees Gaga firmly in her dark disco-pop bag, creating eerie and earworm-y melodies alongside her main Mayhem collaborators Andrew Watt and Cirkut. Complete the package with a genuinely creepy music video directed by Tim Burton himself, and you’ve got a song that will keep you dancing until you’re dead, as Gaga would say.
Lola Young, “SPIDERS”
With only two weeks left until she drops her much-anticipated new album I’m Only F–king Myself, Lola Young would like to make one final plea for someone who will take care of her. On her heartwrenching new mid-tempo single “Spiders,” the rising singer-songwriter pens a letter to her lover, asking them to “kill all the spiders” iin her room for her, and to generally promise to make things that little bit easier in her chaotic life. It’s simple, sweet and a worthy reminder of Young’s resounding talent.
Brandi Carlile, “Returning to Myself”
After spending the last few years focusing on her work with legendary starts like Tanya Tucker, Joni Mitchell and Elton John, Brandi Carlile is all alone again — and it’s freaking her out. On her first solo song in years “Returning to Myself,” Carlile reckons with the inevitable reality of being stuck with yourself. The gentle acoustic harmonies seamlessly match Carlile’s tone as she starts coming to terms with finding comfort without unhealthy codependence.
The Last Dinner Party, “The Scythe”
You know how people say that you go into a state of “mourning” after a breakup? Well, the Last Dinner Party are taking that metaphor to it’s literal conclusion on “The Scythe,” a moving new single that sees the band confronting heartbreak as though it were death itself. But “The Scythe” is no funeral dirge — by the time the phenomenal chorus kicks in, this song comparing the end of a relationship with the Grim Reaper will have you banging your head in perfect rhythm with its excellent beat.
G Flip, Dream Ride
There’s a lot of roughness in reality these days, so why not take some time to escape to another time entirely? That’s what G Flip accomplishes with their excellent new album Dream Ride, as she weaves together a fantasia of ’80s pop-rock melodies over the course of 10 deliciously fun songs. Whether they’re raging against a friend’s ex (“Cut His D–k Off”), throwing up a middle finger to queer-shaming fundamentalists (“Bed on Fire”) or just creating the best possible vibe for their lover (“Lush”), the Australian multi-instrumentalist makes every second count on this phenomenal new project.
Check out all of our picks on Billboard’s Queer Jams of the Week playlist below:
