PWR BTTM—Pageant—180g Maroon Vinyl LP Record w/signed postcard—Waxahatchee

$

25

PWR BTTM—Pageant—180g Maroon Vinyl LP Record
Comes with a signed PWR BTTM postcard (shown) and two posters—one is inside jacket (not shown) and the other is a promo retail store poster (shown)

For fans of Big Thief, Waxahatchee, Diet Cig, Julie Ruin, White Reaper
File under power punk pop rock with queer aesthetics for outsiders on the way to loving themselves

The music of PWR BTTM has been, since the band's origins, steeped in queer identity. Ben Hopkins and Liv Bruce identify as queer and use they/them pronouns; Bruce also identifies as non-binary and transfeminine. The songs on the band's debut album, Ugly Cherries, combined immaculate pop-punk hooks and earnest lyrics with queer aesthetics. That's not to say Hopkins and Bruce use queerness as a crutch; instead, queerness simply informs the two members' songwriting as one of many aspects of their lives.

Bruce and Hopkins both sing, drum and play guitar, and most of PWR BTTM's early music features just those instruments. Pageant builds on that palette: Many tracks include horns and flutes, and some even feature the operatic vocals of Hopkins' mother. The album feels larger and more mainstage-ready than the band's earlier music, while retaining the intimacy fostered during years of performing in dorm rooms and basement venues. Most importantly, PWR BTTM hasn't lost its sense of joy: the kind that inundates the songs' singalong hooks, cascades from Hopkins's flamboyantly extravagant guitar solos and sparkles in Bruce's campy, swaggering humor.

In this political moment, an album based on vague notions of queer triumph would feel incomplete at best — and hollow at worst. Broad, sweeping statements about self-confidence are useful (and Pageant has them, like the anthemic "Big Beautiful Day"), but an entire album of them would be facile. Instead, Pageant explores what it takes to arrive at the kind of self-love that has radical potential, and it's in these moments of tenderness and confusion that Pageant is most powerful. In "LOL," Hopkins sings "When you are queer, you are always 19." The lyric is heartbreaking in its delivery; it took my breath away when I first heard it, having the magical quality of reflecting back to me the personal and universal nature of my own experiences. When you are queer, pop songs that grant that kind of mirror are rare and essential. Pageant provides them.

Pageant also avoids cliche by grounding itself in bodies and the conflicts they create. There are bodies as the objects of desire ("Oh Boy") and bodies that are the object of mockery ("New Trick"); there's autonomy over bodies ("Kids' Table") and the lack of autonomy ("Pageant"). The songs dignify these bodies and their struggles by connecting them to something greater: personal growth, yes, but also a powerful reimagining of what it means to exist within or outside contemporary notions of gender and sexuality. They do so with joy, humor and humanity, with glitter, grief and pride. Pageant is a soundtrack for outsiders on the way to loving themselves — queer and complicated as that process may be.

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All records are shipped using bubble wrap and cardboard flats (plus extra shrink wrap over the bubble and cardboard if I think the situation calls for it)—all enclosed in a secure LP box that includes extra cardboard planks secured on the outside off each corner. Shipment is clearly marked "fragile" on both sides.

Each "loose" LP is shipped outside of the cover and packaged within a poly bag. Records are notorious for tearing through these jackets during the shipping process. Thus, many smaller labels ship records outside of the cover in a poly bag to eliminate damage (and ultimately replacement costs).

Note that all boxsets are given extra special attention to arrive safe and sound through the mail.

Upon request, I can open any sealed record and ship it outside of the sleeve (both placed within a poly bag).

Unless damaged through the mail, any return postage must be paid by buyer. Purchases must be returned as delivered.

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A LITTLE 'BOUT US
Your purchase goes toward the efforts of launching NIN9VOLT RECORDS?an independent label of a couple of guys who love the Replacements, Drag the River, ALL, Archers of Loaf, Sam Beam, Ryan Adams, Liz Phair, and small indie labels like Polyvinyl, Topshelf, Run for Cover, Tiny Engines and many more.

We like smart, well-written lyrics and big guitars most of the time. But we can dig Natalie Merchant singing "Verdi Cries" or Jay Som's "I Think You're Alright".  Or her cool-as-shit ditty to Rush... "Why'd you wait...so long". One of us teaches high school English, the other is imaginary. It just sounds less artificial and not so pompous to think people care about one guy's taste. (But we are currently really digging Bridget Kearney's (Lake Street Dive) new solo record Won't Let You Down.

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