Seattle’s Beautiful Freaks represents punk at yet another generational shift. It’s not safety pins or green hair, and it’s not thick necks or masculine posturing. Instead, it’s defiantly genderqueer and untethered to any one style: glam rock flamboyancy, hardcore punk, regional sludgy grunge, metal’s intensity, and the melodic sensibility of jazz all find their way into the mix. But genre is a concept for the “mediocre millennial butt-rock rockers” that singer Meg Hall (they/she) chastises on live staple “Loser Sellouts.” Vibe is ultimately what matters now, and the vibe they bring to the table — especially at their chaotic, caustic live shows — is one of an impending apocalypse. At shows, scores of young punks validate their anxieties in the therapeutic physicality of an unceasing mosh pit, over which guitarists James Bonaci (they/she) and Cyra Wirth (she/her), drummer Peter Bryson (he/him) and Tony LeFaive (he/him) conduct the mayhem. It’s all part of a return to the raucous Seattle known to history, albeit one ready to answer for its previous transgressions. Today, Beautiful Freaks have fostered a hardcore following, in more ways than one. The music they make is in lockstep with a burgeoning wave of restless, vitriolic, predominantly queer punk acts in the greater Seattle area. The Freaks endeavor not to lead this charge so much as foster it from the frontlines.

High voltage fever dream music. We have created a world where mythos and underground music is blended. I walk the same streets with you carrying the memories of my father, Wish Blade. New music every month, the story is building. New youtube videos every month, the myth is expanding.

In the fall of 2020, longtime friends and California natives caught a fiery wild hair. Within months, Ellie and Resa had demos and were rippin' around the L.A. scene. The duo met and played music together in Los Angeles back in 2011 and stayed close as Ellie toured with other projects, L.A. Witch and Las Cruxes. PAGOTO tracked their debut album, "7989," early spring 2022 at Rolling Live Studios in Studio City. "7989" was released on Licorice Pizza Records August 9, 2024. The band is currently recording their second album.