Teri Gender Bender has unveiled the second half of her 2023 double EP with the release of OUTSIDERS, a five-track rallying cry for manifesting beauty and meaning within the void. She will also be kicking off her run of U.S. tour dates with The Mars Volta which will include a stop at the Fox Theater Pomona on October 14th. The new collection follows the release of their CATSPEAK EP back in May and continues a preference for concentrating their pop-rock fluidity into compressed bursts of vociferous energy.
In “You Won The Man” she traces the lengths to which societal expectations can blur one’s individuality, be it the assertion of arbitrary beauty standards or the pressure to find companionship. “Hope you’re happy / You got the man,” Teri congratulates with a sardonic bite against the skitter of drums and grating riffs. While the angsty and raw melodics of “Stupid Love Song” unmask all the fear and desperation that often sits at the heart of a desire for love.
The EP continues on “Sideways,” which flails with scorching intensity toward an ecstatic finish, while the buoyant rhythms of elastic bass that sizzle on “What Do You Want Me To Do” balance Teri’s ecstatic exasperation with a punchy punkishness.
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OUTSIDERS comes to a close via the sprawling “Walk Into My Everything,” a stunning anthem of spirited connection that coalesces around her faith in other people — fellow outsiders in particular. Amidst its rousing crashes and soaring harmonies, Teri makes a heartening plea to meet life’s futility with the self-sustaining joy kindled between individuals.
Across OUTSIDERS it becomes increasingly clear that Teri embodies the kind of galvanizing dynamism — both lyrically and sonically — needed to beat back the manic apathy of the age. With ecstatic grace and titanic fury, she resolves to ignite in you the earnest belief that our capacity to imbue life with our own meaning is a source of profound strength, not a crumbling portion of its foundation.
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Of the new EP, Teri said: “Amidst the vast emptiness of societal constructs, we, the outsiders, wander like a lone star in a desolate sky. In the face of existential insignificance, we embrace the beauty of isolation, for it is in the depths of detachment that we discover the truest self.”
“Bound by neither labels nor expectations, we are liberated to navigate the abyss of uncertainty, forging our own purpose amidst the void that God has forsaken us with. For in the realm of nihilism, being an outsider is not a curse, but a profound revelation that the only meaning we find is the meaning we create for ourselves.”
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See Teri Gender Bender at the Fox Theater Pomona on October 14th with The Mars Volta.
Visit Teri Gender Bender on their Bandcamp and Instagram to stay updated on new releases and tour announcements.
Teri Gender Bender tour (with The Mars Volta)
Sep 13 Uptown Theater, Minneapolis MN *
Sep 15 GLC Live at 20 Monroe, Grand Rapids MI *
Sep 16 Agora Theater & Ballroom, Cleveland OH *
Sep 19 The National, Richmond VA *
Sep 20 Rams Head Live! Baltimore MD *
Sep 22 Kings Theatre, Brooklyn NY *
Sep 23 College Street Music Hall, New Haven CT *
Sep 24 The Plaza Theater Performing Arts Center, El Paso TX *
Sep 25 MTELUS, Montreal QC *
Sep 27 Stage AE, Pittsburgh PA *
Sep 29 Old Forester’s Paristown Hall, Louisville KY *
Sep 30 The Andrew J Brady Music Center, Cincinnati OH *
Oct 01 Ryman Auditorium, Nashville TN *
Oct 03 The Factory, Chesterfield MO *
Oct 08 Uptown Theater, Kansas City MO *
Oct 09 Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison CO *
Oct 11 The Union Event Center, Salt Lake City UT *
Oct 14 Fox Theater Pomona, Pomona CA *
Words: Steven Ward
Listen to OUTSIDERS the new EP from Teri Gender Bender below!
