PREMIERE: TAYLOR ALXNDR "Romeo" music video

Arts

Feb 12

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TAYLOR ALXNDR does not disappoint when it comes to new music and, as their first release of 2020, “Romeo” is the fresh feel we’ve been waiting for. This ATL-based indie artist has mastered pop panache with ease and “Romeo” stands as a shining example of how they finesse minimalist beats with synth and signature heartfelt wist to create love songs that are never overboard on emo. Not only is “Romeo” a bop, but the music video is a clever take on stereotypical romantic roles with a twist: “Instead of the girl changing for the boy, the boy does the labor to better himself, and earn the girl.”

The 80’s, 90’s homage of teen cinema was shot in 15 hours, an exhilarating experience that mixed DIY and much planning in a proper studio setting. “This music video is a major step for me. I self-directed it and built the entire set!,” ALXNDR exclaims. “One of my goals for my next album is to elevate my music, my visuals, and the idea that a drag performer can be a serious musical act. As a drag performer who makes music and sings live, I’m constantly fighting a limiting narrative of what drag can and cannot do. I’m a part of a wave of drag performers re-writing that narrative, queering it, and while making amazing music!”

Drag sisters Molly Rimswell and Dotte Com are perfectly cast as ALXNDR’s main crew while rising drag king TJ Maxxx plays the “Romeo”. “I knew I needed someone who can exude really big ‘fuckboy’ energy, and he rose to the occasion,” ALXNDR explains. With many local familiar faces in the prom scene, including ALXNDR’s two partners, the filming resulted as an extra-fun conglomeration of community, folx close to the artist, and the elements of sass in the narrative and the joy in the process comes through for the viewer.

ALXNDR’s conjuring of this common character, “the type of guys who flirt with you, but are never open, or vulnerable, or honest”, echoes a collective frustration for many submersed in the Sea of Love. Regarding that which keeps true connection at bay, ALXNDR hints at the suspected social wiring at play, commenting, “I think it’s partly due to toxic masculinity, teaching them that any kind of vulnerability is ‘feminine’ and not ‘manly’.” Though there were a few central mixed-signal mascs who inspired this song, ALXNDR is happy to report that their IRL muses have evolved, blocks of behavior can be changed, though the relevance of “Romeo”s will continue to abound for many. TAYLOR has some advice for handling these devilish romancers:

“Don’t waste your energy on someone who doesn’t spend energy on you! Work on yourself and someone truly deserving of your energy and time will come into the picture. You can’t make someone open up, or be more vulnerable. That kind of growth has to be real and honest!”

Alas! “Romeo” is the Valentine’s Day candy heart many of us need, and it’s luckily wrapped in a pop package that will be stuck in your head for weeks. Being a sugary sweet follow-up from Hologram (so beloved a record that we featured it in Vol. 6), the single is a perfect pitstop on the way to their next album, slated for late Summer. ALXNDR describes the WIP as “more internal and personal” than the last: “Instead of looking outward for inspo, it's more of a snapshot of the last 2 years of my life - more about honesty, mental health, and trying to thrive as a millennial in this day and age.” Always appreciating their ability to candidly craft relatable experience in personal expression, we can’t wait to see what the hard working community organizer for SFQP does next.

Join TAYLOR for their video release and birthday party, “27 in Heaven”, tomorrow Thursday February 13th at the Bakery with performance Klypi and the House of ALXNDR: ARIES ALXNDR, Avana ALXNDR, Molly Rimswell, Rrruby Fiasco, SZN ALXNDR, plus Dotte Comm, Mr. Elle Aye and TJ Maxxx. $8 presale, $10-20 donation at the door.

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Sunni Johnson is the Arts Editor of WUSSY and a writer, zinester, and musician based in Atlanta, GA.

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