You Should Definitely Listen to Fusilier, But Maybe His Past Releases Instead
I absolutely love his previous EPs, but I feel let down by his debut album.
WHY YOU KNOW HIM: Fusilier is part of the broader realm of musicians associated with Bartees Strange and Stereogum-esque acts like Pegg
WHAT’S THE VIBE? Pummeling, pretty, political
START HERE BUT ALSO KEEP READING: “Ambush,” “LLC,” “NSA”
I don’t know exactly when and how I stumbled upon Fusilier’s music, but I do know that his 2022 EP, Treason, made me think his eventual debut album would be a knockout. In just six songs and 20 minutes, Blake Fusilier expanded his rhythmic, ominously sensual music into a more propulsive yet still menacing rock sound that often evoked his idols Nine Inch Nails (you’ll hear about NIN again in this newsletter, promise). To me, it certified Fusilier as a star in the making, yet it was overlooked by almost every major music publication and the larger LGBTQ+ music fanbase.
That’s not to say Fusilier doesn’t have fans — he sure does, go check the Bandcamp — but instead that his music felt like a well-kept secret that I wished would get spread. Ambush, his debut album, is his attempt to reach a much larger audience; “I’m a popstar, baby,” he asserts a few minutes into the LP, as much to us as to himself. In an email from his publicist, he told me that he was “dealing with a lot of failure after the EPs” and “using smoke and mirrors to build the monster I probably have to be to get what I want.”
His way of getting what he wants — success in music — is to, well, transform himself into his version of a pop star. To go pop after years of cultivating a strong sonic identity that’s not the most accessible thing in the world, you either have to reshape that identity into something hookier while still keeping your core self, or you need such amazing songs that you can get away with reinventing yourself entirely. Although Ambush initially continues on Treason’s path and starts off with a bang, as the album continues, Fusilier sometimes ventures away from the niche he’s developed, and the new terrain he explores is often interesting but never thrilling. It’s nowhere close to a failure, but I can’t call it a complete success either, though its high moments are high.
As in, the bangers bang and ultimately make the album worth giving a spin, even if only a few songs wind up lingering. The opener and title track is the logical extreme of Treason’s sound, like that EP’s “1000 Words” on steroids, and it’s a clear homage to Nine Inch Nails’ “March of the Pigs,” my favorite NIN song (you’ve heard of 4/4 time, wait till you experience…29/8 time). “LLC” evokes the sexy yet unnerving sound of Fusilier’s 2018 double EP DUTY + YTUDES, but with more confident vocals and a mix that gives each instrument more room to breathe. I feel the same about “NSA” and simply can’t get it out of my head; although Fusilier is married, I totally believe him when he sings, “You must have lost your mind when I told you that / I just want your love with no strings attached” in his high register as bass slowly rumbles and strings swell (and also, polyamory exists, ask me about it sometime, it rocks).
“NSA” exemplifies one of Fusilier’s signature traits: menacing music that somehow still works for your sex playlist. This has been his primary throughline from DUTY + YTUDES opener “The Moment” through Treason closer “KTA,” though there have also been detours into clearer-sounding, more spacious rock songs such as “The Shot” and “dueling.” These are among the early Fusilier songs I like less because they don’t have his spooky numbers’ irresistible tension. Similarly, I like Ambush’s single “Birds” and find Fusilier’s Moses Sumney-esque falsetto on it really impressive, but I struggle to experience it as anything more than pretty, like looking at a painting instead of being bowled over by it. That’s also how I feel about “Satellites,” which is mostly pianos, gleaming guitars, some strings here and there, and Fusilier’s voice. It’s objectively gorgeous, but it doesn’t really stir me.
And now, we have to talk about Ambush’s second single, “Nightmare Muscle.” I liked this song at first, but now, I find it to be the unquestionable thorn in Ambush’s side, the album’s low point. And I should like it; it’s almost AI-engineered for me in that it’s incredibly melodic, bursting with distorted guitar riffs, bright as the midday sun despite all the pummeling, and full of vocal harmonies. But all these qualities are roughly the opposite of the lane in which Fusilier has succeeded in the past for me; his voice and this track’s guitars alike are missing the enticingly ominous hallmarks of a masterful Fusilier song. “Nightmare Muscle” sounds like his attempt to sand off his rough edges for broader mainstream appeal, but for me, it lands as corny.
That’s kind of tragic, because the lyrics on “Nightmare Muscle” are telling as fuck. “You gotta kill to make a killing on your way to the good life,” he sings on the chorus, a direct commentary on how he’s reinventing himself to avoid what he considers his past failures (but what I honestly, truly consider his past successes). I suppose this contradiction comes down to how you define success and whether you let someone else define it for you instead of doing so yourself: Is Fusilier writing “Nightmare Muscle” for himself or to meet expectations others, or the music world at large, have imposed on him? The song serves as his narration of giving birth to a new self who’s reaching for the stars, and the music attests to this drive too: There’s a guitar solo before the final chorus but not in the invigorating Prince or “Beat It” way, all but shouting his stadium aspirations.
If this is indeed a rebirth of the Fusilier project, then one thing that blessedly remains consistent from his previous releases is his sharp pen. On “LLC,” we get rap-cadence sneers of “What daddy gonna fix, he broke,” and it feels like an in-joke on the queer community’s fixation with the word “daddy,” especially given Fusilier’s ravishing delivery. “The future’s an open road / But don’t go alone,” the line that closes “U N I N O,” is a heartwarming reminder of the value of community and love, and it’s also a call to arms. This track’s quick and fun jibes against imperialism, whiteness in general, and staying in the closet get sent through a jumbled mess of vocal effects, and they’re the most exciting thing about the song, which doesn’t stick with me despite bearing many of Treason’s sonic motifs. Whereas “Ambush” is so over-the-top it can’t help but be riveting in its mere two-minute runtime, “U N I N O,” at two minutes and 23 seconds of runtime, feels rushed; I find that the song is over before it really gets to start.
By contrast, in 2020, Fusilier dropped a gorgeous yet terrifying ballad called “Upstream” that sends shivers down my spine as its slow-pouring bass hangs uneasily in the air for a stunning six minutes. On Ambush, as he tries to be the monster he thinks he has to be to succeed, his signature creeping sense of intermingled doom and sensuality begins to fade. He has plenty of future releases, though, on which to bring it back. I remain optimistic.
And, of course, there are the past releases. Go listen to Treason, go listen to “The Moment,” go listen to “Make You,” go listen to “Upstream.” You won’t regret it. Which, on that note, you know what? Let’s make it official. These are all Absolute Must-Listens.
Please read this New York Times opinion piece about Mahmoud Khalil’s arrest being the greatest threat to free speech since the Red Scare. I’m not alone in feeling that Khalil’s detention and the circumstances around it — in particular, the fact that he is not being charged with a crime and that it is extraordinarily rare for one’s green card to be revoked — portend the beginning of a major suppression of basic human rights that we urgently need to figure out how to fight back against. And we’ve already lost so many of our rights as it is. Plus, if even the New York Times is allowing its opinion writers to express outrage against the detention of pro-Palestinian student protestors, the tides are clearly shifting.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Max Freedman launched the LGBTQ+ music newsletter Lavender Sound in January 2025 to create an online writing community by and for LGBTQ+ people about LGBTQ+ music. They also interview artists for The Creative Independent, which is their favorite website (they really want you to read their Jaboukie Young-White interview), and they’ve previously contributed music criticism to Pitchfork, Bandcamp Daily, and Paste. Their pronouns are whatever float your boat ⛴️💜