Melbourne’s Cry Club are celebrating Pride Month and Found family with their new track People Like Me.
The punk rockers have even created a stylish video filled with choreography and fashion.
The video was directed by Eva Otsing and shot on location at Estonian House, Brunswick. The video is a visual celebration of the band’s commitment to honouring the presence and spirit of queer history, community and found family.
Working alongside choreographer Marni Green, Cry Club drew inspiration from the legacy of iconic dancer, director and actor Bob Fosse, renowned for his career on Broadway and working with stars including Liza Minelli.
“Trying to visualise a song that was so aggressive and unapologetic, there was really no other option for us other than full-camp,” band members Heather Riley and Jono Tooke said.
“We wanted to explore the more under-the-surface themes of the song – discovering community, strength in numbers, found family, the history of LGBTQ+ communities in nightlife. There is a tendency for us to match the full-on energy of our music in the videos, but it seemed more effective in this case to do the opposite.”
“The end result is almost a funhouse mirror of public transphobia and homophobia twisted back onto that audience and used as a moment of power. Why do we scare you? What are we doing that puts that fear into you? The video feels ominous at points, but there’s no punchline or reveal, it’s just a collection of proud queer and trans people presenting the way we want to and enjoying the camaraderie that comes with doing it together.”
Heather Riley spoke about the inspiration for the song.
“I often feel this pressure about being queer and trans, like I have to be sweet and kind at all times to prove that I deserve to be treated like any other person. It’s exhausting, just constantly having to justify my existence and to people who wouldn’t change their mind either way.” they said.
“I love this song so much, it’s finally letting all of that go and not just accepting but celebrating the fact that we don’t need permission or approval to do whatever the fuck we want. Releasing all that frustration and relishing in the bizarre power trip of being able to piss off bigots by simply existing as ourselves.”
Check out the new song and video.
Graeme Watson, image: Giulia McGauran
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