Pelvis Wrestley
Pelvis Wrestley
Pelvis Wrestley is a band with a mission: to reclaim Americana in the spirit of queer patriotism. Their frontman, native Texan and Pacific Northwest-émigré Benjamin Violet, resists any attempt to categorize their music as anything other than Country despite its glamorous synths or electronic beats. This profound allegiance gives rise to a genre-redefining sound that celebrates self-preservation and discovery. Pelvis Wrestley’s camp aesthetic can best be described as Dolly Parton meets David Bowie with a hearty seasoning of synth-pop.
The band’s dedicated members, Santiago Dietche (Daphne Tunes), Sarah Schultz (Sun June), Behnam Arzaghi, and Hannah McVay, have all played a part in elevating Pelvis Wrestley into the Austin music fan favorite it is today. Pelvis Wrestley has rocked venues like Cheer Up Charlies in support of its debut single “Susanna” and even made an appearance on KEYE TV CBS Austin.
Benjamin Violet’s singing voice is eerily reminiscent of Bowie’s, an artist which Violet says to have discovered while attending private Christian high school. There are a characteristic vibrato and taper to both voices that invokes a forgotten style of a sentimental pop ballad. It’s perhaps one of many cultural artifacts that Violet has carefully cultivated on a growth chronicle spanning all the way towards Seattle and back. Violet’s journey home has found him re-embracing uniquely-Texan music with fresh ears, perspective, and vindictive desire.
Recently, the band has partnered with childhood friend Jake Miles to record their debut album Vortexas Vorever which is slated for a 2020 release. Snippets of new album tracks have been teased on Pelvis Wrestley’s Instagram alongside links to Change.org petitions and calls to #queerantine. What is undoubtedly clear for this bright and promising country-pop group is that defiance and patriotism run together like two sides of the same coin.
