Released: October 7
Darren Hayes proudly celebrates his LGBTQ+ identity as he unveils his boldest and most personal collection to date.
Arriving a decade after his last solo release, ‘Homosexual’ was entirely written, performed and produced by Darren over the past two years from his base of Los Angeles and explores his journey through personal and professional suppression, to accepting, embracing and learning to love and be proud of the person he is.
“I’m a gay man who grew up in an era when that word was used to shame and vilify people like me, so I wanted to reclaim it,” he explains. “I’m also a recording artist who came up in an era where being openly gay was frowned upon and I experienced first-hand, the attempted erasure of my true identity from the marketing department of a major record label.”
Launching with lead track Let’s Try Being In Love, the album begins with an electronic motif not dissimilar to Donna Summer’s disco classic I Feel Love – an apt reference for a collection that sees the former Savage Garden star channel his sexuality. Refreshingly, it’s not a gimmick, and what really stands out are his vocals, which masterfully segue between registers, asserting that Darren Hayes is back and means business.
The album’s pre-release tracks touch on the array of issues that he tackles on ‘Homosexual’; Do You Remember? details the musician’s first gay kiss, while All You Pretty Things is a tribute to the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida.
Deeply personal single Poison Blood tackles his experiences with his family history of suicide, while Hey Matt sees Darren discuss his own struggles with depression.
It’s a poignant moment in the narrative of ‘Homosexual’ and one that continues with the trio of Music Video, Euphoric Equation and Nocturnal Animal, which see the singer-songwriter regress to his childhood and connect the implications of being targeted for hanging out with girls on the playground and growing up with an abusive father. ‘Midnight ‘til three is where I feel the safest / My panic subsides and my trauma erases’, he sings on the latter track, turning his struggles with insomnia into an empowering anthem and a tool that he used to complete much of the work on his latest offering, much of which he worked on late at night.
Releasing the album independently not only allows Darren to explore topics rarely covered on commercial pop records, but to also experiment with new sonic territory, most notably on closing track Birth – a sizzling electronic extravaganza which lights a clear path to his musical future.
‘Homosexual’ is far from a straightforward, generic pop record: clocking in at over an hour with songs ranging from four to nine minutes long, its a statement piece that cuts to the heart of its creator. Nestled among the tracks are two ‘acts’ of the title song, on which he sings, ‘If love is a sin, you can count me in / Baby I’m a homosexual’, bringing his journey of self-discovery full circle.
The message is even more poignant, as he explains: “I’m living in a time and in a country where the freedoms of LGBTQI+ people are more at risk than they’ve ever been. Moments like the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill in Florida, or the constant attacks on trans people, have made it clear to me that now is the time to be as loud as possible about who I am.”
It’s a notion that encompasses everything the album stands for, which is an empowering statement for the LGBTQ+ community and beyond, celebrating love and acceptance and standing bold in the face of adversity. Bravo Darren Hayes.
‘Homosexual’ is available now.
READ MORE: Darren Hayes: ‘The ‘90s was stifling – it’s much more liberating to be an artist today!’
