PREMIERE Gloomy June, "Kill You"

Doom, tech booms, and the Bay Area’s very own Gloomy June; photographed by CC Ann Li.

The performative pretenses abound everywhere in our increasingly fractured global communities. Whilst wasting away the days and nights of being holed up in our domiciles, the infinite doom scrolls on the socials shines a light on the skewed presentations of nebulous realities manufactured by self-professed influencers, projecting staged spectacles of sensationalism and/or retreads of repackaged content from other creators. The enticing hooks initially offer intrigue to the innocents, gradually introducing increasingly extreme content as the almighty algorithms within the mobile machines move the feed needles toward the more menacing varieties. What often begins as a platform to keep up with friends, families, artists of interest, and more become portals of unbound negativity that err on the sides of unproductive destruction in the place of constructive curiosities. Within this void the dopamine hits devolve from the uplifting streams of sentimentality to an oversaturation of sensationalized hate, violence, misinformation / disinformation, and absurd degrees of intolerance that previously would be almost virtually inconceivable to the naïve mind.

Pushing our society to the brink of collapse under the weight of excessively obscured and altered perceptions of existence: we ask what effect does this have on art and our artists? Add the ubiquity of artificial intelligence tools that grossly contribute to the inescapable deluge of slop, the work of creatives becomes increasingly burdensome in the face of what can only begin to be described as a spirit sucking futility. In the dichotomy of humankind and the autocratic technocracies the imperative is placed upon the artist to soldier through in ways that ask the questions that extend beyond the quest for clicks and engagement acrobatics. In the anguish of incessant farming, grinding for ways to break through the cycles of insipid advertisements and the onslaught of outright awful and blatantly antagonistic maelstrom of what can only begin to be described as utter mayhem — the focus is to reconnect the world and ourselves back to the principles of humanity. While the uncompromising gravity our world ratchets toward authoritarian trends and the suppression of unity it is incumbent of the artist to disrupt the cycle with stories, statements, and substance that stands for something greater than the otherwise empty performative gestures, hate symbols, dog whistles, sinister coded signals, tribalist policies, and the inverse arts of vacuous aesthetics.

In the spirit of breaking these toxic trends are the beloved San Francisco power queer group Gloomy June with the surveillance core visuals for “Kill You”, courtesy of Kevin Burleigh Productions and featured off their self-titled. The crew of Alexi Belchere, Ash Hyatt, Devin Nelson and Jack Sundquist are joined by Amy Schmalkuche (of Like Roses) in an exchange of verses about the intensity of operating as an individual and artist in an era of oppressive adversity ad infinum. Alexi and Amy tackle the tidal waves of mining through the madness of modern day systems of sustenance and actualization that runs through spectrums of malaise to full scale malice. “Kill You” is a righteous, epic queer emo eternal classic that rages against the gaslighting, campaigns of social corrosion, the rise of a sordid nationalism built on the propaganda of extreme prejudice, and the unconscionable tides of racism, transphobia, xenophobia, tyranny, and innumerous acts and overtures that are anti-anything resembling humanity, sustainability, sensibility, et al.

Released in time for National Coming Out Day 2025, Gloomy June offers an odyssey and anthemic outlet of commiseration, camaraderie, and unrelenting kindness in the face of a harsh of hostile world. The video from Kevin Burleigh magnificently blends performance footage and a dystopian narrative that depicts the band being individually surveilled by the band themselves under the guise of secret agents. The obsessive anti-privacy measures of today are observed through the security camera lens in hand with the urgent details of dissent and push back by the powers that be. That day to day play by plays are told through breathlessly urgent, bordering on manic calls to use your own voice to break on through to a better state of being and feeling.

The shattering of the screaming emptiness confronts tales of survival in the trenches of modern day tribulations and the absolute exhaustion that is felt just to maintain one’s own balance. "Kill You" is a plea to rise above, even when it feels like defeat is easier in the face of fights for a higher degree of justice. Nosy shadowy forces administered by billionaire broligarch wannabe bureaucrats notwithstanding: Gloomy June shines with the power to overcome all obstacles and attrition through the strong and empowered song of an indefatigable, inextinguishable call of solidarity for all humankind.

The Gloomy June gang shared the following expansive insights on the new single and much more:

Alexi Belchere:

“Kill you” is about how it feels to be a musician today. You put your life on display on social media, existing as more of a brand than a person, and each song you release is another chance to try again (and) fill the void in hopes that someone might dance. Songwriting starts to feel like farming, where you’re always harvesting your creativity. It even has seasons like how you shouldn’t put out a song in the summer because the market is flooded.

Social media is basically the antagonist in this song, with the first verse being a numbing scroll through atrocities, and the rest of the song being about representing yourself as an artist on the social media stage. What started as a useful tool for artists to connect directly with potential fans is now an industry requirement. I’ve heard of some big artists on labels getting their work shelved until they make a viral TikTok. When songwriters are more geared toward making 15 second soundbites with a hook in the first three seconds than playing from the heart, I shrug and commend their hustle. But it kills me to put myself in their shoes. For me, the point of being a musician is connecting with people through song, the people in the audience and my friends on stage, so it would kill me to sing lyrics that I didn’t feel connected to. It doesn’t bother me to make a silly trendy TikTok once in a while, but I think both artists and audiences yearn for a connection beyond recycled memes.

The video for “Kill You” is about both our social media existence, documenting our lives doing the most mundane things, but also about being under surveillance while we perform our lives. There’s the joke of what my FBI agent sees when I’m lying in bed all day, etc. and my idea was to satirize the sinister infiltration of surveillance tools both in our phones and outside. I’m not sure if everything I’m saying here sounds very tinfoil hat, but we hear more and more about surveillance tools being used by police to the point that it’s become commonplace.

I feel like we’re on the precipice of a chaotic time, both in the world and in the creative world, and we’ll soon need to let go of our current normal. More and more we need to embrace and support our community. And somehow, “Kill You” is about that, about the internal anguish and external chaos in trying to connect with one another.

The iconic Gloomy June; photographed by CC Ann Li.

Devin Nelson:

While we often get compared to early aughts emo and punk, “Kill You” was an experiment in fully leaning into those accusations. I tried to project myself back into that time and intentionally write riffs that evoke that era. I was also amused with the idea of writing a breakdown in a major key to make it simultaneously edgy and poppy.

Gloomy June’s self-titled is out now.

Catch the band on the following tour dates:

October

16 Los Angeles CA - The OG Shed
17 Las Vegas NV - Red Dwarf
23 Tallahassee FL - The Bark
24 Gainsville FL - The Backyard at
Boca Fiesta & Palomino
26 Gainesville FL - How Bazar
28 Raleigh NC - The Pour House
29 Richmond VA - Bandito’s
30 Baltimore MD - Zissimo's
31 New York NY - Main Drag

November

1 Boston MA - Midway Cafe