Add to Library: "Don't Blink" by Fancy Hagood
Queer singer-songwriter defies genre barriers while blending them together.
The song
Hear me out. “Queer Southern Pop.” This is how Fancy Hagood himself would describe his music. I think he’s hit the nail on the head. I wouldn’t say that country is a go-to genre for me, but Hagood has infused just the right amount of pop and rock into his sound that you’ll find it really tough to turn your ears away from this man’s voice.
There are so many dynamite lyrics and melodies on his debut album, Southern Curiosity, that I found it difficult to pick just one to tell you to Add to Library. “Don’t Blink” is a bright, rouser of a tune, that as the U.S. stares timidly at a bright spot at the end of a pandemic, Hagood’s references to “slow dancing in the kitchen,” and “made in America” might just bring you to your feet.
This chorus will equally give you Maren Morris “My Church” and Leon Bridges “River” vibes. By the time the chorus comes around the second time, the gospel choir that joins Hagood’s powerful tenor busts the doors wide open on the track. If it brought you to your feet, the a capella chorus at the 2:36 mark will bring you to your knees.
I would be remiss if I didn’t also address how profound it is to have an outwardly queer male artist like Fancy Hagood making the music that he grew up on and is intrinsically drawn to create. There are still very few gay male recording artists writing from their perspective. Take a listen to “Either,” a heart wrenching ballad from Hagood’s perspective when he was in high school and not able to live out his truth.
At times, it can be difficult to be a lover of pop music and continuously hear pronouns in love songs directed at the opposite sex. To gay listeners, it sticks out, just as it does when Hagood writes an album as truthful as this one.
Other not-to-miss tracks off of the album: “Forest,” “Southern Curiosity,” “Mr. Atlanta”
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