SUICIDAL-IDOL

The glitter and grunge of scene and emo music from the latter 2000s returned in a more virulent form in the 2020s, in an incarnation that seems to revel in decadence and provocation even more than its predecessor. One of the avatars of this movement is a mysterious figure who releases music under the name SUICIDAL-IDOL, a moniker that captures 2000s melodrama to a skin-tight T. The artist surfaced in 2021 with a bouncy, sweary paean to problematic puppy love titled “ecstacy.” A slowed-down version of the song became a viral sensation. More tracks followed, evoking manic hedonism with pitch-shifted and Auto-Tuned vocals, which roll steadily over hardcore techno. At live shows featuring members of the Fab Fantasy collective, the emotion this idol’s music most seems to evoke is joy.