Jinkx Monsoon’s sophomore album ‘The Ginger Snapped’ is a bombastic celebration
Bryan Smith
“Feeling like pussy, feeling like cunt. Make way for the Queen”. When the curtains pull back and the lights dim at the start of ‘The Ginger Snapped’, you are instantly greeted with a sassy anthem highlighting extreme and silly aspects of the drag queen lifestyle. This album is absolutely dripping with style, satire and attitude, just like Jinkx Monsoon themself (self-identified as gender fluid, thus preferring the pronouns their, they, and them). Monsoon (a.k.a. Jerick Hoffer) embraces the extremes of drag culture while poking fun at them too.
There is a lot of musical variety here thanks to Monsoon’s musical partner Major Scales, with layers of piano, power chords, heavy bass, strings, and brass sprinkled throughout. The album plays a lot like a Broadway production where Monsoon is the main character that critiques and reflects on their experiences in society. Monsoon’s charming vocals cut through the noise every time in a satisfying way, and they help deliver a sonorous experience that never left me feeling bored or wanting more.
One stand out track: ‘Cartoons and Vodka’ is a fun blues romp that is utterly relatable to everyone; those days where you are just beat and the best thing in the world is to have a drink and watch some cartoons at home. The song has also been treated with an awesome music video that you should definitely check out. Another stand out song: ‘Pianoman’ shakes things up towards the end of the album, and begins with heavy drums and a funky piano progression that makes you want to get up and dance. One of the slower tracks on the album called ‘Just Me (The Gender Binary Blues)’ is solidly written, and it describes the point of view of someone who doesn’t identify as only male or female. Monsoon weaves a narrative of experiences from their life seamlessly into a sarcastic and jazzy package, and I couldn’t help but listen to each word.
‘The Ginger Snapped’ is a well-produced and incredibly tight sounding album, and almost every track is strong enough to stand on its own. It’s also a remarkable glimpse into drag culture, and Monsoon’s lyrics reflect it in a relatable way. Monsoon’s ability to tell an entertaining story in each song, combined with the album’s vibrant sound, made listening to ‘The Ginger Snapped’ an enjoyable ride that will keep me coming back to listen to more.
