Chris Garneau said he aims to call out “sociopathic and abusive people, specifically men, in positions of power” with his new song, “Torpedo.”
The New York-based singer-songwriter takes a more sensual approach with the song’s video, debuting exclusively on HuffPost, which can be viewed above. In it, Garneau shares a passionate, if tormented, pas de deux with dancer Davon Rainey. As the chorus swells, the two wrestle one another to the floor before seemingly parting ways at the song’s conclusion.
Featuring Shannon Funchess on vocals, “Torpedo” appears on Garneau’s fourth album, “Yours,” released in November. The album’s themes “directly mirror the sociopolitical climate in our country right now,” Garneau told HuffPost, though he said he’s “taken some liberties in regard to space and time to present a really full soundscape.”
“The 2016 election influenced the execution of my album in the sense I felt I wanted to share without holding back,” he said. “That being said, almost the entirety of this new record was written beforehand. I had a moment I was worried the album was too dismal, but decided to move forward after it looked like we had slipped into a hell storm.”
Garneau, who has been compared with Jeff Buckley, Regina Spektor and Rufus Wainwright, has never shied away from exploring sexuality through his music and performances. Still, he said his own mission is to “be fully honest” in his art, as opposed to representing the LGBTQ community in a specific light.
“I’m just making the work that I am making because I am who I am, and this person happens to be queer as fuck,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to be cornered into making work unique to any one thing and I wouldn’t expect people to listen to it because I am gay. [But] you do have to stand up for your community globally, your whole community ― especially if you have the privileged ability do to so.”
“Torpedo” caps a banner year for Garneau, who performed in London, Paris and Los Angeles in support of “Yours” this fall. He’s slated to hit the studio to record a handful of new tunes in early 2019, and plans to return to the concert stage next spring.
