As the closing credit song to The Runner, Boy Harsher’s anthemic “Autonomy” is memorable. The newest single features vocals by fellow Western Massachusetts-based artist Cooper B. Handy aka Lucy who offers up a lighthearted touch to Jae Matthews and producer Augustus Muller’s original horror soundtrack that was released earlier this year. “’Autonomy’ is a product of pandemic isolation,” says Muller. “I was feeling lost, lonely, and loveless. ‘Autonomy’ was my escape during a period where I truly felt stuck.”
The uplifting and synergetic spirit of the song is apparent: “The songwriting process was very easy and breezy – it came together kind of magically,” adds Handy. “It was awesome to be able to collaborate and have this song with both Jae and I singing.”
For those of us who have seen Boy Harsher’s self-directed The Runner, the music video for “Autonomy” is an extension of that. Clips of Coopers’ part in the film are cut in and out while fellow characters dance in the off-white alternate reality. The idea of movie characters hanging out with the musical artists was not uncommon for 1980s OST soundtrack hits—think about the Brat Pack hanging out in the music video for John Parr’s “St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion)” video—and this nod to the past has always been Boy Harsher’s modus operandi (including the nice touch of Muller’s unplugged Ensoniq synthesizer). Watch the video below.
Catch Boy Harsher on their extensive international tour that begins next week:
North America:
Tue. Mar. 29 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer #
Wed. Mar. 30 – Boston, MA @ Crystal Ballroom at Somerville Theatre #
Thu. Mar. 31 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg #
Sat. Apr. 2 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg #
Sun. Apr. 3 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg #
Tue. April 5 – Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle #
Wed. April 6 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West ^
Thu. April 7 – Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge ^
Fri. April 8 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle ^
Sat. April 9 – Richmond, VA @ The Broadberry ^
Sun. April 10 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat ^
Fri. April 15 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile ≈
Sat. April 16 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom ≈
Mon. April 18 – San Francisco, CA @ The Regency Ballroom ≈
Tue. April 19 – Los Angeles, CA @ Belasco Theater ≈
Wed. April 20 – Los Angeles, CA @ Belasco Theater ≈
Thu. April 21 – Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory ≈
Fri. April 22 – San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park ≈
Thu. April 28 – Raleigh, NC @ Red Hat Amphitheater %
Sun. May 1 – Franklin, TN @ FirstBank Amphitheater %
Sat. June 25 – Seattle, WA @ Queer/Pride Presents: The Cuff PRIDEFEST
Sat. July 16 – Brooklyn, NY @ Boiler Room New York
Sun. July 17 – Montreal, QC @ Société des Arts Technologiques ∞
Mon. July 18 – Toronto, ON @ The Opera House ∞
Tue. July 19 – Detroit, MI @ El Club ∞
Wed. July 20 – Chicago, IL @ The Empty Bottle ∞
Thu. July 21 – Chicago, IL @ The Empty Bottle
Fri. July 22 – Chicago, IL @ The Empty Bottle
Sat. July 23 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line ∞
Mon. July 25 – Kansas City, MO @ The Record Bar ∞
Wed. July 27 – Houston, TX @ Numbers ∞
Thu. July 28 – San Antonio, TX @ Sam’s Music Hall ∞
Fri. July 29 – Austin, TX @ Empire Control Room and Garage ∞
Mon. July 30 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater ∞
Europe:
Sat. May 7 – Wein, AT @ Flex (Halle) √
Sun. May 8 – Bratislava, SK @ Fuga √
Mon. May 9 – Ljublbana, SI @ Kino Siska √
Wed. May 11 – Zagreb, HR @ Mocvara √
Thu. May 12 – Budapest, HU @ Akvarium √
Fri. May 13 – Belgrado, RS @ SubBeerni Centar √
Sat. May 14 – Skopje, MK @ 25th of May Hall √
Sun. May 15 – Thessaloniki, GR @ Block 33 √
Tue. May 17 – Athens, GR @ Lunar Space √
Thu. May 19 – Caserta, IT @ Lizard Club √
Fri. May 20 – Roma, IT @ Monk √
Sat. May 21 – Bologna, IT @ TPO √
Sun. May 22 – Vicenza, IT @ Totem √
Tue. May 24 – Lausanne, CH @ Les Docks √
Wed. May 25 – Munich, DE @ Freiheitshalle √
Thu. May 26 – Heidelberg, DE @ Commissary √
Fri. May 27 – Lyon, FR @ Nuits Sonores
Sat. May 28 – London, UK @ Wide Awake Festival
Mon. May 30 – Warsaw, PL @ Progresja √
Tue. May 31 – Krakow, PL @ Hype Park √
Wed. June 1 – Prague, CZ @ Archa Theatre √
Sat. June 4 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Festival
Sun. June 5 – Marseille, FR @ Le Bon Air Festival
Fri. June 10 – Gräfenhainichen, DE @ Melt Festival
Sat. June 11 – Wicklow Mountains, IE @ Beyond The Pale Festive
Tue. June 14 – Copenhagen, DK @ Pumpehuset
Wed. June 15 – Malmo, SE @ Plan B
Thu. June 16 – Stockholm, SE @ Debaser
Fri. June 17 – Helsinki, FI @ Sideways Festival
Sat. June 18 – Den Haag, NL @ Grauzone Fest
Sat. Aug 13 – Basel, CH @ Polyfon Festival
Fri. Aug. 19 – Coura, PT @ Paredes De Coura
Sat. Aug. 20 – Hamburg, DE @ Dockville
Sun. Aug. 21 – Berlin, DE @ Astra †
Mon. Aug. 22 – Cologne, DE @ Gloria †
Tue. Aug. 23 – Leipzig, DE @ Werk2 †
Wed. Aug. 24 – Frankfurt, DE @ Zoom †
Thu. Aug. 25 – Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg †
Fri. Aug. 26 – Hasselt, BE @ Muziekodroom †
Sat. Aug. 27 – London, UK @ Moth Club
Sun. Aug. 28 – London, UK @ Earth ∑
Mon. Aug. 29 – Paris, FR @ Cabaret Sauvage †
Tue. Aug. 30 – Berlin, DE @ SO36
US:
Sun. Sept. 18 @ Los Angeles, CA @ Primavera Sound LA
# w/ Twin Tribes
^ w/ Club Music
≈ w/ Troller
% w/ Nine Inch Nails
√ w/ Hide
∞ w/ Hiro Kono
† w/ Kris Baha
∑ w/ Helm
