ALBUM REVIEW: Flamy Grant Wants to Take You to ‘CHURCH’

It seems Flamy Grant has been defined more by her media controversy than her music. This is unjust but understandable – these days, a country music-slinging Christian drag queen is bound to draw ire from all the wrong people. But, if there were any doubts about her artistic prowess, her latest offering, CHURCH, should put those to bed.

On this, her sophomore album, Grant embraces her artistry while guiding us to a queer utopia of loving kindness with the ferocious vision of a prophet and the ironic zingers of a RuPaul’s Drag Race panel. 

Grant (who borrows her name from Christian Contemporary singer Amy Grant) crafts songs with an inexorable flow and irresistible hooks. Inspired by 1990s country and Christian Contemporary Music (CCM), Grant’s air-tight lyrics and soaring tenor make CHURCH reckon with religious trauma, queer role models, and fully embracing the light within oneself. Whether that light refers to gender identity, sexuality, spirituality, or a potent combination of all three is up to the listener, but the message rings true: We must embrace ourselves, because joy is the path to the connections (secular or otherwise) we all yearn for.

Like CCM, there’s not much subtlety to these songs. Instead, you’re supposed to get caught up in the swell. “Leslie” is a touching eulogy for Leslie Jordan, one of the only actors to portray queer Southern men throughout the ‘90s. “Hard to See Me Happy” recounts Grant’s evolution from terrified college student to proud adult who has shed her Evangelical upbringing for a more authentic expression of her Christianity. The album closes with the stunning “If You Ever Leave,” a majestic ballad that gracefully evolves from a secular breakup song to a message of love and hope for those struggling with suicidal thoughts.

At the same time, CHURCH is also the soundtrack to a drag show, and there’s tons of fun to be had. “Revenge” is an uproarious kiss-off to Christian hypocrites, while “Old Religion” (with Crys Matthews) is a folksy vision of a faith that stays true to its teachings. “S.P.R.K.L.” is a disco rager that embraces Grant’s self-creation as a drag queen. The album culminates with “Last Days,” a duet with Chris Housman. The sly rock tune threads the needle on the relationship between Evangelicalism and racism, homophobia, transphobia, and fascism. Specifically, the song urges listeners to embrace their fullest selves, to create an unshakable liberatory energy that transcends oppression. Of course, with Housman and Grant at the helm, the song is also catchy as hell. 

Grant uses drag to deliver a treasure trove of disarmingly sincere music. Rather than using the artform to create an ironic distance between performer and audience member, Grant’s conviction illustrates drag as an art that can lead us to the truth.

In his recent appearance on the Gender Reveal podcast, scholar Colby Gordon argues that trans identities can be better conceptualized as spiritual transcendence than a matter of scientific intervention. With CHURCH, Flamy Grant takes such heady notions and asserts for a fact that this is the case – and she does it with a backbeat.

Flamy Grant’s CHURCH is due Oct. 11 on Mountain Home Music Company.