Los Angeles Synth-pop Act Male Tears Explores Gender in “Hit Me”

From an early age, James Edward fostered a love for 80’s electronic pop music, due to his father being a predominant DJ in the LA nightclub scene. Over the years this love grew, until he formed Male Tears as an artistic outlet.

The new track, “Hit Me”, delivers a synth-heavy track, with a hook reminiscent of Violator-era Depeche Mode, melding artistic conventions of electropop, electronic body music, and infectious 80s new wave production style. Rife with those satisfying orchestral hits and eerie synths, “Hit Me” is the first single released through fledgling Los Angeles-based label Hush Club Ltd.  The song is self-described as his ‘most heartfelt yet.’ It’s a perfect dance bop for a nightclub, true to Edward’s roots.

“I’m channeling my new wave influences and frustrations with societal gender expectations into this new track,” Edward explains. “The single serves as a direct challenge to what the world expects from us undesirables.”

A new video of Hit Me has been released by Male Tears. The video was created by Male Tears, and VHS aesthetics were created by visual artist CBTV.HAZETV. It is a fairly straightforward, no-nonsense performance clip, but the time-bending analogue treatment gives it the nostalgic feel of watching MTV in 1988 on a scrambled cable channel or wonky satellite dish.

Watch “Hit Me” below:

Based in Los Angeles, Edward describes Male Tears as “the result of a goth’s love affair with 1980’s new wave” and a pop experiment flirting with themes of morbidity, sexuality and self-destruction.

Listen to the single on Spotify:

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