Trixie Mattel will show off a range of musical influences on her new album Barbara, a full-length follow-up to the drag enterainer’s companion discs Two Birds and One Stone. The new project will be released on February 7th.
Borrowing its title from the full name of a popular, iconic line of dolls, Barbara aims to mix the candy-colored, over-the-top aspects of the breakout RuPal’s Drag Race star’s persona with a darker, melancholy style of storytelling. Divided stylistically across its two sides, the album’s first half will tend toward the more jangly power pop of the standalone single “Yellow Cloud,” while the back half will loop back to Mattel’s country-folk origins as heard on Two Birds and One Stone.
Mattel wrote six of the eight songs included, and sings a cover of “I Can’t Shake the Stranger Out of You” by queer country pioneer Lavender Country. Ashley Levy of the Blah Blah Blahs also contributed the song “We Got the Look.”
“A decade of being Trixie has me looking back at my initial sketches of her with freshly painted-on eyes,” says Mattel in a statement. “She’s still the plastic paragon I’ve always imagined; a Malibu-mod fashion doll with a darkened wit — but now there’s more.”
On February 5th, Mattel will embark on the Trixie Mattel: Grown Up tour to support the album. The performer also recently released the comedy special Trixie Mattel: Skinny Legend, along with a namesake cosmetics line.
Trixie Mattel – Barbara track list:
SIDE A:
- “Malibu”
- “We Got The Look”
- “Girl Next Door”
- “Jesse Jesse”
SIDE B:
- “Gold”
- “I Don’t Have A Broken Heart”
- “I Do Like You”
- “Stranger”