Today Vancouver-based queer pop phenom Xana released “Monster,” the third single from her forthcoming sophomore LP, The Sex Was Good Until It Wasn’t, which drops May 10th. “I wrote this song at a time where I was forced to look my mistakes square in the eye and take accountability for the hurt caused by my actions,” she has said of the track. Other tracks of TSWGUIW similarly explore intimate and hard-to-confront details of the artist’s personal experiences, but in a way that enabled Xana to help heal herself from her most significant traumas. However, the album also includes unabashedly celebratory tracks, like lead single, “Better Kind Of Best Friend,” a sex-positive anthem about queer empowerment. Xana is preparing to take her new music on the road, with her The Sex Was Good Tour, which kicks off on June 1st in Portland, OR, and includes a stop at our very own Underground Arts on Friday, June 21st. I recently got a chance to chat with the burgeoning pop star about her new album, upcoming live dates, and a handful of her favorite things.
Izzy: You’re gearing up to release The Sex Was Good Until It Wasn’t, your sophomore LP, which I know you consider to be an evolution in your music and exploration of personal subject matter. What was the process of writing and recording all of this intensely intimate stuff like? I imagine it was kind of a rollercoaster of ups and downs…
Xana: Yes, it was definitely a rollercoaster but a very cathartic one. I honestly had an amazing time creating this album, even the darker, harder parts to face. It still felt so freeing to acknowledge those feelings and those truths and allow myself to create something good out of them. Throughout the process of writing this album I learned that there were some experiences and emotions that I wasn’t really able to work through until I wrote about them first, and then I was able to have those conversations with myself and face them head on, which was a helpful lesson to learn about myself.
I also want to take a moment to appreciate my team, all the musicians and everyone involved in the creation of this album, but especially my producers Liam Moes and Shane Stephenson. Because of the extremely raw and vulnerable nature of this album, it would not have been able to come into fruition without such immense safety and trust, and it means the world to me that this project was handled with such care and was as important to them as it was to me.
Izzy: You’ve already released a handful of singles from the album. Have you had any favorite reactions to the new material from fans so far? You seem to be really actively engaged with fans on social media.
Xana: Just seeing everyone be so passionate and excited makes me feel so lucky and even more eager to put out this album. They’ve made group chats, memes, they record their reactions to hearing songs and watching videos for the first time and that always makes me smile and laugh so hard. They often engage with each other about their thoughts and predictions for the album, make plans to meet up during the tour, what to wear to the shows… They’ve already managed to make this album a part of their everyday life and literally only two songs are out as of now, and that blows my mind. I don’t know what I did to deserve such a special and unique fanbase but I’m ready to ride this wave with them for as long as they’ll let me.
Izzy: While we’re talking about sophomore LPs, which are kind of notoriously tricky for a lot of artists, I’m curious if you have any particular favorite sophomore LPs of music history? I was looking through your Spotify playlists and you seem to have pretty diverse taste, but a lot that overlaps with mine, from the “rock” I grew up listening to (Aerosmith, Guns N’ Roses, Kiss) to some of my all-time favorite artists (The Smiths and The Velvet Underground) to more recent stuff I dig (Julia Jacklin, The Last Dinner Party, Samia), and even some good phriends of PHILTHY (Madi Diaz and Zella Day).
Xana: One of my favorite albums that came out last year was Paint My Bedroom Black by Holly Humberstone, and that happens to be her sophomore album! And Fletcher just dropped her second album, In Search Of The Antidote, which I haven’t been able to stop listening to. Hopefully I can tell her that at Summerfest this year!! But yes, I listen to nearly everything under the sun, it’s hard to keep track of it all! A lot of that is thanks to my parents, we listened to many different genres growing up. There’s a couple sophomore albums coming out this year that I’m excited to listen to as well, like girl in red’s album I’m Doing It Again Baby! So many artists I’m excited to watch kill the game.
Izzy: The Sex Was Good Tour kicks off in June and runs through early July. Are there any venues you’re especially excited to play, or cities that you’re just especially excited to visit or revisit? You’re playing a pretty wide variety of venues, from barrooms to nightclubs and a lot of stuff that’s sort of in-between (Underground Arts is a 650-cap concrete punk/metal basement venue… It’s pretty great.)
Xana: I’m coming to a lot of cities that I know a lot of people have been begging me to hit for a long time. I’m really excited for Chicago and Boston (babyblue stans rise) and also some of the southern cities like Dallas and Nashville. Last tour, New York and Seattle really turned the fuck out so I’m stoked to come back to those crowds. I’m just excited to be back in a room with my favorite people again.
Izzy: What can be expected of the live show on The Sex Was Good Tour, relating to setlist, production, and just the general energy of the night?
Xana: We are doing our best to squeeze every beloved song into this set, so far I’m crazy excited about it. We’re gonna rage together, cry together, get dirty together… all the best and biggest feelings. We’re also going to have a rotating slot in the set that will change every night so we can hit as many songs throughout the tour as we possibly can, and every city will have a show unique to them. I’m stoked to be bringing the same team with me again, everyone is very passionate about creating the best show we can. We’re gonna have fun. But maybe book your therapy session for the following day in advance.
Izzy: You’re going to be sharing the stage for our date (and a number of others) with Dezi, who’s opening and who I’m also definitely a fan of. How did you get hooked up with her and what are your thoughts on her music?
Xana: I’ve been a fan of Dezi’s for a while, so I was stoked to see her name in the list of opener submissions. I love how energetic and bold her music is, but can also be very tender and vulnerable. It takes talent to have such range. I recently met her in person when I was down in LA and she’s an absolute sweetheart, and made the city feel a lot more welcoming. I’m really looking forward to sharing the stage with such a force of an artist.
Izzy: I’m not sure if you know this, but Underground Arts is actually in the neighborhood David Lynch was in when he was in college and served as the inspiration for Eraserhead, so we call it “Eraserhood.” I’m curious if you’re a fan of David Lynch or have any particular favorite works of his?
Xana: I’ll be honest, I haven’t gone down the David Lynch rabbit hole!! But now that I know this, I’m gonna do my best to watch Eraserhead before the tour. My roommate and I love our movie nights, so we’ll dive in and I’ll report back in Philly.
Izzy: You have a really amazing sense of fashion. What does that draw inspiration from? Do you have any particularly significant “style icons?”
Xana: Honestly, probably my friends and my sister. My sister is the kind of person that can make anything look cool, even if on its own it’s the most heinous thing you’ve ever seen. Going thrifting with her is almost pointless because she’ll always find the good stuff, even after you’ve torn the racks apart. And my friends’ style varies so much so it’s always so fun to see what they’re gonna wear, and they inspire me a lot.
Izzy: On a related note, is there anything you especially love seeing fans wear out to the shows? I already have my outfit all set, but if you have fans who are still deciding how they may want to dress up and turn out, would you have any suggestions?
Xana: I love when people wear what they feel confident in, seeing people really feeling themselves is always such a good feeling. A few people last tour made their own outfits inspired by their favorite songs and that was so cool to see! One girl wore a satin dress covered in blood splatter for “Bad Bandit.” I was obsessed. Others made t-shirts based on the album or specific songs. I love when people get creative with how they present themselves. For this tour, the vibe is fantasy rocker pixie chick I think?? I’m honestly still working on my own tour fits.
Izzy: I know we’re still in spring, but your tour is going to take place this summer, so I’m curious if you have any thoughts on the season? I feel like summers might be an even bigger deal in Canada, since it gets super cold there for so much of the year… Any favorite summertime things, whether “summertime jams” or just fun shit you get to do?
Xana: I’m such a summer baby. My birth month is August so anything hot and sunny I am all about. I’m lucky enough that where I live in Canada doesn’t get crazy cold, but I am always way happier when the sun hits. I know it’s still early, but I just started my summer 2024 playlist and the first song is called “Trad Future” by dba James. That’s how I want this summer to feel. I’m stoked to be kicking off summer with the tour and then I get to come home and spend time outside and in nature with my friends. Will hopefully do a couple camping trips and hit the Kootenays at least once this summer.
Izzy: Finally, what’s next for you? What are you hoping and planning for the second half of 2024, after these dates wrap? Or is it just going to be more and more time on the road for the near future?
Xana: I will say that The Sex Was Good Tour doesn’t end with the states, so we have that to look forward to, and I somehow can never seem to leave the studio alone so I’m always scheming on what’s next. But I’m excited to explore the world of The Sex Was Good Until It Wasn’t with everyone for the next while.
*Get your tickets here.
