Editor’s Note: The Albumism staff has selected what we believe to be 50 Essential Albums by LGBTQ Artists, representing a varied cross-section of genres, styles and time periods. Considering that the qualifier “LGBTQ” can often be open to various interpretations, for the purposes of this particular list, we have defined an artist as LGBTQ if he, she or they have ever publicly identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer. Moreover, albums by groups have been included in the list if any of their members fit the aforementioned criteria, even if some members do not.
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THE SOUND OF ARROWS | Stay Free
Skies Above (2017)
Selected by Quentin Harrison
Hailing from Gävle, Sweden—though now headquartered in Stockholm—The Sound of Arrows (Oskar Gullstrand, Stefan Storm) came to the notice of tastemakers with their ephemeral dream pop through their debut Voyage (2011). Initially, the two teased audiences with their promotional photography and propensity for gender-neutrality in their songwriting; it evinced that Storm and Gullstrand weren’t concerned with dispelling the conjecture that swirled around them.
Six years after Voyage, their second offering Stay Free held onto some of that mystique as much as it put its finger on an explicit gay pulse too. Musically, Stay Free is an accomplished, layered album that posits that The Sound of Arrows aren’t showing any signs of slowing down, they’re just getting started.
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