Halloween has come and gone, but Lyndsay Jane is in no hurry to get back in her grave. From the graveyards of Chicago, the self-proclaimed punk vampire used the scariest night of the year to release two singles with her new project, The Familiars. Beneath the macabre aesthetic lies a celebration of identity, desire and resistance in the face of a society determined to turn difference into something monstrous.
Devil Baby is dark, hard-hitting post-punk, channeling the industrial grit of Nine Inch Nails and the murky sensuality of The Kills. A snaking bassline, distorted guitars and a heavy, repetitive beat carry a voice that switches between cold, spoken delivery and hair-raising screams. Surrounded by witches, ravens and black magic, Lyndsay takes ownership of gothic tropes to push back against those who fetishise trans and goth girls, and makes it clear that her sexuality belongs to her alone. Here, being the monster means refusing to be tamed.
Crucifixion trades aggression for a more haunting melancholy. It leans towards the 90s alternative rock of Garbage and Curve without losing its post-punk pulse. Winding guitars, a hypnotic rhythm section and vocals that move between detachment and vulnerability create something as beautiful as it is unsettling. Its religious and funereal imagery turns heartbreak into sacrifice and loss, and is a reminder that institutional violence against trans people is also felt on a deeply personal level.
The two songs sound very different, but they rebel against the same demons. Faced with those who want to condemn certain identities to the shadows, Lyndsay Jane answers by embracing inevitable pain and radical joy at the same time. After all, the real monsters don’t always live in cemeteries.
Lyndsay Jane & The Familiars play Bricktown, Chicago on 14 November, supporting Directrix.
Let the monsters into your feed. Follow Lyndsay Jane & The Familiars on Instagram