Queer punk duo PWR BTTM are gearing up to release its highly anticipated sophomore album, Pageant, on May 12. With a month more to wait, we’ve already gotten a pretty good taste of the record via “Big Beautiful Day” and “Answer My Text.” We know now that we’ll hear at least one more new PWR BTTM track between now and the record’s drop, since the band shared “LOL” this morning.
The song makes effective use of loud-quiet dynamics, which allows the energetic and unrestrained hook to really pop. As for the lyrics, a vulnerable Ben Hopkins sings about the complexity and emotional exhaustion that love brings, with lines like, “I know that I am naive / When you are queer, you are always 19 / I didn’t know you could take such a shape.” Oh, and if you’re wondering about that opera singing in the background, it turns out it was provided by Hopkins’ mother.
Ps, the opera singer on LOL is Christiane Hopkins aka my mom aka @tshcater !!!! pic.twitter.com/ZXGpDOH8lh
— PWR BTTM (@PWRBTTMBAND) April 10, 2017
Pageant hasn’t produced any duds yet, but it’ll be a month before we can confirm that the album is as amazing as we suspect. In the meantime, listen to “LOL” below, and if you’re into it, preorder Pageant here and find PWR BTTM’s summer tour dates here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMI2UvAR18U?rel=0
