Alter Boy
Act of God
Believe Music / O Happy Dagger
Perth’s Alter Boy are ones to watch this year, riding high off some outstanding breakout singles year and an excellent turn at In The Pines. The band are a mix of electro pop with occasional RnB and hip hop influences – a sound and aesthetic the band have dubbed “queerlectro.” Their huge sound will continue to make waves if singles like Act of God are anything to go by.
The song is an exercise in build, cramming a mini opera into four minutes. It starts with backing choral harmonies and lead singer Molly Aaron’s whispered vocal. The lyric “your mouth is but a cut to me” is a reference to one of Alter Boy’s key themes, which is the experience of the deaf and hearing impaired. With members that are deaf/hard of hearing, queer and trans, the band’s lyrical content tackles much of this experience and their live show is a must see, as it incorporates AUSLAN and gender-bending performance art.
Lyrically this track is quite dark, seeming to address the way struggles are internalized by deaf/hard of hearing people in a world where normality is backed by a sense of religious natural order (“God’s green earth”). With its skittering trap-like cymbals, choral harmonies, and epic synth melodies, this is as rich a single as we’ve come to expect from the band. It also helps that this is undeniably catchy, creating beauty through rage.
This is another grand single that makes Alter Boy a band to watch this year, and especially live if you get the chance. Catch them at Wave Rock Weekender (September 24-27), and their Act of God EP launch at Fremantle Arts Centre on Saturday, October 23.
MATIJA ZIVKOVIC
