By Vee D
The FMs unveiled their new video for Silent City (Ghost Stories Redux), a peculiarly prophetic song that was written a year ago by frontthem Matte Namer about a pandemic hitting NYC and forcing everyone to stay inside. During the month of April, The FMs shot a music video for Silent City, being creative while working within the limits of social distancing and getting to utilize the eerily quiet NYC streets as a backdrop.
For the Ghost Stories Redux of Silent City, the video was “remixed” by Dylan Mars Greenberg. “Frankie Rex and I were born in New York City – explains Matte Namer – and spent our entire lives here, it’s both exciting, strange and humbling to be releasing this song and video right now in the midst of a really tragic time for the city. This city has given us so much, and this is our love letter back to it.”
The FMs are a bastion of queer music. Formed in 2017 by Matte Namer (they/them) and Frankie Rex (he/him/they/them), who met in high school in New York City, the Brooklyn band exudes sex, subversion, and style through their politically charged pop missives. “We realized our voices had this incredible synergy, and both didn’t identify as cis-gender.” Their debut album Machinacene Epoch takes cues from glam, synth-pop, industrial, stoner rock, dance music, and beyond, while its lyrics discussed socio-political topics like gun violence, toxic masculinity, selfie culture, and artificial intelligence.
Unsurprisingly, The FMs’ lyrical content is as forward-thinking and galvanizing as their music. “I’m drawn to music’s ability to mobilize social and cultural change,” Matte reveals. “It can tap into masses of people at once and maybe alter the course of history in an instant.”
“It’s the perfect time to release music with a positive social message. Showing ourselves to the world in our truest colors (being queer, non-binary/trans, kink-positive) is a positive message in and of itself,” Matte points out. “We’re in a time of massive social upheaval, caught in a wild story that none of us know how it will end. Will the dark forces who propagate in fear, selfishness, machismo, and narcissism beat out the side of reason, love, and compassion? I sure hope not, but we’ll be doing our part to steer the storyline.”
