This May, Gay City News reviews the latest albums by indie rock band Model/Actriz, whose singer Cole Haden is gay, and queer, non-binary R&B singer Fielded.
Model/Actriz | “Pirouette” | True Panther
The post-punk revival is now into its third decade. We’ve heard infinite variations on music created in New York, London and Manchester between 1978 and 1981. Those innovations have been pushed to the point of exhaustion. Model/Actriz bring the requisite scratchy guitar and vertiginous dance beats. But they also bring something new: singer Cole Haden’s queer perspective, seen and heard both in their lyrics and visuals. He takes everyday situations, like longing after an attractive man on a subway platform, and blows them up till they stand in for something larger.
Guitarist Jack Wetmore, bassist Aaron Shapiro and drummer Ruben Radlauer play expertly in robotic unison. During “Vespers,” they come together like a loop, as a rattling noise threatens to drown them out. They’re rigid enough to sound electronic. Westmore mutes his guitar strings into brittle clicks. (“Acid Rain” switches things up with acoustic guitar.) The notes he plays are much less important than their rhythm and timbre. The band’s sound has a full presence, yet it’s also rather fragile. Together, they sound bigger than each individual instrument.
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