Babymorocco - Amour

Babymorocco (aka Clayton Pettet, the self-styled “original gay boy of Tumblr”, whose biceps attract their thousands) refutes the queer-baiter allegations that spur controversy among his cult following. Soaked in milk, flexing for Gay Times, he flouts the accusation, confesses fluidity (and irritation) after a forced hand, and persists with exhibitionism. This is pop music, where ironic commodification and sexual expression are celebrated, but ambiguity is questioned, even when the answer to “Is Babymorocco queer?” seems irrelevant or obvious. The art school graduate’s disregard for rules - once intending to lose his virginity on-stage - is felt throughout debut record ‘Amour’, where scally masculinity and a noughties sex-positive pop pastiche is upheld by indie sleaze arrogance, spotlighting a rogue sex symbol owning his evasive transience and gender expression. Immersed in turn-of-the-millennium Ministry of Sound aesthetics, Babymorocco raves in a throwback misfit party zeitgeist. There’s radio earworm pop (see ‘Red Eye’ and ‘No Cameo’), Euro-trash (‘Elle Aime’ feat. Frost Children), electronica (‘Give Me Luv’) and noughties rave (‘Left U On The Track’), retreading the footsteps of back-of-the-bus-music cultural monoliths like Space Cowboy, David Guetta, Zedd and RedOne. Sometimes, his voice is swamped by monotonous and past-its-sell-by-date imitation (‘Body Organic Disco Electronic’) but after a few spins, his nostalgic deck turns intoxicating, a vision of noughties masculinity and male pop stardom if it knew then what it knows now. ‘Amour’ carries popularising noughties nostalgia with proud sexual fluidity, a reminder that not everything about sex has to be serious, and the gauche doesn’t have to be ironic to have meaningful perspective.