Album Review: Scene Queen – Hot Singles In Your Area (Hopeless Records)

Bimbocore royalty Scene Queen’s debut LP ‘Hot Singles In Your Area’, will be released on the 28th of June via Hopeless Records. A 15-track album that celebrates sexual freedom, hyper-femininity, LGBTQ+ and everything in between with a little help from collaborations with WARGASM, The Ready Set, and 6arelyhuman.

Scene Queen (aka Hannah Collins) has been taking the ‘scene’ by storm. What scene, I hear you ask? Any of them, and all of them. You can’t pigeonhole Scene Queen and shouldn’t even dare too. Hannah might shout at you if you do.

Who Scene Queen are and what they stand for is incredibly admirable, but let’s not beat around the bush here, musically, they’re polarising. Having built up an army of fans on route to this release, but also building up plenty of detractors too. Isn’t it always the way though, when a band or artist attempts to challenge the narrative?

So, where to begin with Hot Singles In Your Area? If you’re one of the people who are outraged by what Scene Queen are bringing to the metal table, you probably should give this album a miss. Here’s the thing, they’re not making music for you, specifically. They’re making music for everyone. There’s nothing exclusive here, it’s all about inclusivity, and musically, it’s all about wide-spread appeal. When the word catchy is used to describe Scene Queen and so much of this album, it’s not hyperbolic in any way.

Now, sprinkle in some outrageously fun vibes, and you have tracks like BDSM, 18+, Whips & Chains, Pink Push-Up Bra, MILF, Finger, PEG, and Climax. The big hitters from this album, but not exclusively the best that it has to offer. Variety, it’s the spice of life, and a major part of the Scene Queen mantra.

A 15-track album might sound egregious, but Scene Queen are all about getting in, speaking their minds, fucking around, and getting out. No need for cab fare. Hannah Collins isn’t shy, that much should be clear, but she delivers a level of authenticity that you just can’t ignore. This isn’t just a sex-positive, LGBTQ+ proud, female empowerment album, it’s about standing up and saying, ‘fuck this, fuck that, and fuck you’. Fuck shitty behaviour in the music scene, fuck gatekeeping, fuck misogynists, racists, homophobes, TERFs, abusers, and all the worst kind of people, and fuck you for enabling it and pretending it doesn’t exist.

When Hannah sings words like:

Slap on the wrist, no one gives a shit. I’m too old for this, get it? and Asshole, try to spike my drink (piece of shit), Busted, guess I caught another creep (of course).

She means it, and when words like this are sung with such infectious vitality, it’s impossible to not sing them back. Here’s the thing though, and it goes back to what was stated at the start of this review, Scene Queen’s music is so polarising. This might be the most brilliant things released this year or one of the worst things released this year. That’s going to depend entirely on the listener’s tastes, and how much of an open mind a person has. It is easy to be objective and see both points of views, but what is indisputable is the fact that Scene Queen are making one hell of a racket with Hot Singles In Your Area.

It’s an album packed with fun, sexy, and anthemic tracks. Liable to find certain sections of society clutching their pearls in shock. Which is pretty damn metal.

Scene Queen – Hot Singles In Your Area Track Listing:

1. BDSM
2. 18+
3. Whips & Chains
4. Pink Push-Up Bra
5. Mutual Masturbation
6. Girls Gone Wild (Ft. Wargasm)
7. POV (Ft. The Ready Set)
8. Hot Singles In Your Area
9. MILF
10. Amateur
11. STUCK (Ft. 6arelyhuman)
12. Finger
13. PEG
14. Oral Fixation
15. Climax

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