Heather Mae -- kiss & tell + WHAT THEY HID FROM ME

Heather Mae is not short of ambition and her double release kiss & tell and WHAT THEY HID FROM ME are a powerful one-two punch of owning one's queerness in the face of trauma. As Mae mentioned in our interview last year, the plan for this project was too bold for a single album – Mae wanted to involve as many women and nonbinary people in the Nashville music scene as possible, and to leverage specific genres to spread her message.

kiss & tell was produced by Lollies (Timbaland, Hayley Williams), a sensual and compelling demonstration of the political possibilities of centering queer pleasure. "All I Wanna Do" is a sensual intro to an album about claiming sexuality in spite of everything trying to suppress it; an exploration of teenage experimention with zero shame. The album thrums with irresistible bass grooves and pulsating percussion, giving each track a sultry sheen.

"Ash & Smoke" appears on both albums, a defiant refutation of those who would deny the existence of queer people (on kiss & tell) and a fiery anthem as it appears on the guitar-forward WHAT THEY HID FROM ME. But kiss & tell explores the quiet moments of love as well: "You Choose Me" is a tender rejection of the patriarchy and a celebration of the way a true partner invites us to shed our insecurities with the aid of the ones we hold closest.

WHAT THEY HID FROM ME, produced by ZDAN, addresses the ways the politics in the outside world filter back into the bedroom. "Black Lives Do" is an anti-racist rocker, inviting white people to truly understand what they mean when they say "all lives matter." While such a position is worthy of derision, Mae's radical faith in others instead uses this song to bridge gaps and ask them to reconsider by appealing to their better natures. Another standout is "What I Know Now" – my note for this song is "oof." Mae recounts personal story of sexual assault with unflinching honesty and a tenderness for her past self that is healing.

With these albums, Mae demonstrates the effortless joy that should come with embracing our sexuality – and what happens when restrictions are imposed on us by the patriarchy. Yet by releasing the albums simultaneously, Mae shows us that both of these impulses can live inside us – and we can choose to banish one of them.

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