(Editor’s Note — On Friday, exene paloma, the queer Buffalo folk-punk artist who performs under the name pjn x, will drop a new EP titled, ‘unsettled,’ a 5-track follow-up to the excellent 2023 debut ‘noble crimes.’‘unsettled’ features extremely well-crafted songs which move at a furious pace and examine, in an urgent and biting manner, a range of issues including struggle, oppression, resistance and loss. Intelligent, honest and darkly funny, pjn x is an important songwriter with a lot to say. Recently, we were fortunate enough to talk with this always-interesting artist. It was a great conversation and we’re happy to bring it to you below. Look for ‘unsettled’ on streaming platforms Friday, Jan. 10.)
1120 PRESS: Thank you for speaking with us and congratulations on the new EP. How are you feeling now that it’s about to be released into the world?
exene paloma: I mean, yeah, thanks for the opportunity to share. I’m feeling good about it. The whole thing got recorded and mixed in less than a week, and at the end of that period I was definitely a little buried in it and feeling like I’d missed the mark overall on some things, but a lot of good feedback from people I trust helped level that out a bit. That “inner critic” can be a real bitch, but I’m psyched to have created this and to have it out there soon.
1120: Please bear with us on this next question because it’s long-winded. You’re a very outspoken and confrontational artist in the sense that your subject matter often takes no prisoners. Writing songs about social issues — particularly LGBTQIA+ issues — lies at the heart of your work. With everything happening in the world, and the nation being on the cusp of another Trump presidency, we were wondering before even spinning the EP for the first time where your thoughts would be on this record. And right off the bat, the EP starts with ‘from all sides’ which certainly isn’t a feel-good song by any means.
But then, it’s followed up with the song ‘no going back,’ which reflects not only on the years in which you repressed your true identity as queer pansexual nonbinary but also includes the forward-looking line “I won’t waste another ounce of energy being anything but free,” which sounds to us almost optimistic. The juxtaposition of the two songs is interesting. In writing this EP, did the fact that more time has passed since confronting your identity and sexuality, combined with the fact you’ve now been living a truer existence for a longer while, provide any sort of different perspective or mindset compared to when you were writing your debut, ‘noble crimes’?
ep: Yeah, there’s a lot there. “from all sides” is literally about, well, like the title says, all the different things there are to deal with at the moment. Which, yeah, an overtly fascist administration definitely adds to. But it’s worth keeping in mind that these conditions – the genocide and apartheid/occupation in Palestine, the climate crisis, the police and surveillance state, oppression and marginalization of BIPOC and queer people here in the US; hell, capitalism itself – have been created, maintained, and expanded on by the liberals. Which is what the final song “convention vibes” (written during this past year’s DNC) is about. And both of those songs ultimately end in more optimistic vibes than they start, because for me it's not so much a juxtaposition as two aspects of the condition. It IS really that bad, and by actually facing that without the bullshit rationalizations and willful ignorance we all use to make ourselves more comfortable, there’s an opportunity to truly create something worth living in. AND that is not easy, and gets harder by the day, given those conditions themselves and the ways we’ve been conditioned to cope with the constant shitstorm.
Same goes for “no going back.” It’s about more than suppression – or repression – of just aspects of my sexuality or gender, but also of my creativity, my true beliefs and worldview, and of course the outward expression of all those aspects of myself. Like, there’s musicians that came and went in the time I spent living these massive lies and
playing these prescribed roles, and they now have a big impact and influence on me, but I’ll never be in those rooms when it was happening. There literally is no going back, there never is, and we do not have forever, so we gotta face the truth about ourselves, others, and the world we’re in, and orient ourselves accordingly.
And yes, the perspective in the songs has changed from when the “noble crimes” songs were written, as many of those were written (and even ordered “chronologically” on the EP) specifically to tell that particular chapter of the story. And here we are writing new chapters now (and always will be).
1120: You have been very openly critical of the Pride movement, and you have a song on this EP titled ‘post-pride.’ Can you talk about the sentiment in that song?
ep: Well, I don’t know that there’s a “movement” at all to be honest; more of a marketing campaign and a parade — which itself is comprised of profiteers, pigs, and politicians marketing themselves to the gays with rainbow-washed love bombing and bullshit. I fully appreciate the positive role those festivities can play in someone’s quest for visibility and validation, and I myself have gotten a little of that before so I do get why people participate, but that validation and belonging comes from the community — the other people there that you can see and be seen by and relate to – not from corporate sponsors or the non-profit complex and definitely not from fucking cops. There is no “stonewall” in “Pride” anymore. Mainstream capitalist liberal cis gays co-opted the gay/queer liberation movement into a “gay marriage” assimilationist movement, and left trans and other gender-nonconforming folks behind, as they always do. So great, we have big parades of identities and emotions being bought and sold, then the high-priced after-parties (“festivals”), and then orgies of absurdly expensive consumption at trendy pop gay bars and clubs, all happening in a month fully drowned in rainbow-painted pandering from the literal worst people, organizations, and system in the world. So, yeah, not a fan so much.
1120: There is a lot of trepidation as we approach another Trump presidency, and rightfully so. That said, on the song ‘convention vibes’ — which you mentioned above — you hand up a scathing indictment of the Democratic Party and Biden presidency. What are your thoughts as we near another Trump presidency in comparison to Biden’s tenure, both as someone who identifies as queer non-binary and as folk-punk artist whose songs are steeped in protest?
ep: Trepidation indeed, and well-deserved, but yeah as I said earlier, this ship has been heading for the iceberg for a while, and the liberals have done plenty of steering. This is just another escalation. And as an anarchist, I don’t believe the answers can be found within this system, no matter who the politicians are at any given moment. As soon as election day was over, we saw the same things we always see in these cycles: befuddled and scared liberals get radicalized — (or at least start reading some different sources and show up at a few community meetings to “do something”) — at least temporarily anyway, and then the “well this will produce some great punk rock” narrative kicks in. And like, yes, some great protest/angry music will definitely get made, but that’s always the case… There’s always great, angry, smart music getting made. Which is (partly) because the shittiness has always been here, and some of us don’t have to have the literal worst and most absurd version of things happen to be like: “oh shit, this is wrong, and someone should say something, and maybe even do something”.
So yeah, in the next few years some folks will probably see more harm than they
otherwise would have under some “we’re literally right of Reagan but check out my vibe” Democratic administration, but the size of that difference is pure speculation. And again, the answers aren’t in this system, anywhere. That’s what the end of the song is about, and frankly why it’s the closer. There IS something else possible, but it’s not some minor variation of (neo)liberal capitalism. It’s something that has to start from the ground up, relationship to relationship, grounded in what actually fucking matters in life.
1120: Your dog sadly passed away and you marked that passing with a really lovely song on the EP titled ‘without you here.’ There’s one line in particular that’s just so beautiful that goes: ‘I miss your zoomies on the floor and all your different kinds of snorts.’ How has that loss affected you and what was the thought process in deciding to include this song on a record filled with political and social-political songs?
ep: Losing Marcus (aka snort) was absolutely brutal. We’ve come through a few rough situations and massive transitions together. He was literally my certified emotional support animal and number 1 (and prob 2 and 3) on my “why you shouldn’t kill yourself” list for when those tough moments hit. So, it’s definitely dropped a layer of depression on me that was both very predictable and totally unavoidable, but I’ve been getting along so far because of people/relationships/community and music.
Which makes it perfect for the release, since those are the ways we get through things. It fits the overall title and vibe of the EP, and to be honest, even though that was definitely the most recent song I wrote (something like a couple weeks before recording), I didn’t much consider whether it would fit with the others or not. I write what I write. I write about what matters to me. And snort definitely fucking matters to me, as do my friends, lovers, the queer community, etc.
Who’s the bestest boy? He was.
1120: There was a long stretch of time before the release of ‘noble crimes’ in which you weren’t writing songs or playing music. Now you are writing, recording, playing out, and working on a split with Smitten for Trash… For someone who had taken so many years off, your guitar playing and lyrical delivery were still quite impressive when you started again. But do you feel now like you are finally settling back in as an artist these days, and if so, in what ways?
ep: Well, as the title of the EP implies, feeling settled in isn’t much of a vibe for me in general, but there’s certainly development happening. There’s certainly a certain rhythm and comfort there, which does grow with practice and repetition and time, so in that sense, maybe? And musically anyway, a few of the songs on “noble crimes” had been written for years, and then I put lyrics onto them in the 2-3 months prior to recording, whereas with all of the songs on this one, they’re all written in the last year or so and the music and words were written a bit closer together. So, there’s a little more cohesion there all around I think, thematically and in terms of the process.
But I don’t know that I’ll ever feel settled in as an artist, and that’s ok. That’s a hard thing to manage. Something’s always “is this not enough? or is it too much?” — whether it’s my personality, food, and definitely my music. Which can make the recording process challenging of course, as I mentioned before. Unsettled is more my vibe for sure it seems.
But, ultimately, I’m happy with what I’m creating, who I’m creating it with, and that anyone gives a shit or likes it at all.
1120: Thank you again for speaking with us. Before we wrap up, what else is on the agenda for you in 2025?
ep: I appreciate the opportunity! You mentioned some of it, but yeah “unsettled” drops digitally Friday 1/10, and then the next Friday 1/17 my friends at Bleeding Gums Records are putting out a cassette (and very limited CD run) of “noble crimes” on one side and “unsettled” on the other, which is awesome, and which will drop on a run of three shows I’m doing in Philly that weekend with Smitten for Trash (and other friends). Then Smitten and I will be heading back into the studio (our apartments) to record the split you mentioned, which we’ll be releasing before our two-week spring tour together in April. I’ll also have a new song (not yet written) on a trans folk-punk community comp sometime in the next couple months (maybe?). After that, in all the ways, who the fuck knows??
But, yeah, thanks again. I appreciate the support.
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