Cleo Handler – Queen City Sounds and Art

Cleo Handler released her new album compare & contrast on April 4, 2025 and it’s full of songs that contemplate aspects of ourselves when we are in relationships and how we are by ourselves and the way our intuition speaks to us that we can ignore at our peril in pursuit of what we think will make us happy or fulfilled with someone else. The single “rules” is a wry yet lively song that seems to come from a place of being involved with someone who has a lot of rules for their life that they don’t always adhere to themselves in ways that are growth oriented but don’t always extend to accommodating the needs of others. The song doesn’t strike a regretful tone, just one noting the ways in which the relationship with its restrictions would never work out long term and just embracing coming to that realization without rancor. Essentially the song is one that asks oneself what compromises and accommodations you’re willing to make to be in someone’s life and if it’s what you want for yourself and if that relationship is worth it for those restrictions and that it’s okay to decide that it’s not. Which is a major theme throughout the record. Listen to “rules” on Spotify and follow Cleo Handler at the links below.

cleohandler.com

Cleo Handler on Twitter

Cleo Handler on Instagram

Cleo Handler on Bandcamp

Cleo Handler asks a lot of surreal questions and poses odd scenarios in her song “but i’m a vegetarian.” The vocal style is deadpan and conversational but melodic enough to be singing and in that way like a strange story set to minimal guitar riffing and drums. The vibe is definitely in the realm of King Missile, Dead Milkmen and Camper Van Beethoven in that the wry and absurd sense of humor informs lines about eccentric aspirations. “what if i became a carnivore, what if i became an arsonist, what if i robbed a fucking bank, what if i became a grand larcenist” gives us a peek into idle, dark fantasy and mentions of listening to podcasts about fucked up men and going for a run contrasts that with some of the most mundane pursuits that some people think makes them edgy. It really is choice humor in an understated way one might more often see underlying the film work of Miranda July in which the humor isn’t spelled out for you but which in aggregate offers sharp analysis of society and the stream of consciousness daydreams that can drift into your brain upon which some act and others shake themselves out of or enjoy for the ridiculousness of these unusual psychological impulses. Listen to “but i’m a vegetarian” on Spotify and follow Cleo Handler at the links below where you can also listen to the rest of her recently released album gold on Bandcamp, a record that fans of experimental post-punk band Dry Cleaning may enjoy as well.