Chloe Antoinette is the star that this generation has been looking for. Their debut album, Tattoo Butterfly, shows immense talent and potential for a shining career.
Unlike my usual method of discovering local artists in Southern California, I didn’t just stumble onto Chloe Antoinette’s music at a random house show or on social media. I actually had the pleasure of being friends with Chloe in high school. From our first interactions in our school’s competitive choir program, I could always tell that Chloe was an insanely talented and creative individual. As soon as Chloe started to share their music publicly, I tuned in and was a huge fan of what they were making. (can I brag that I was there in-person to see Imaginary Lover – the first performed song on Chloe’s YouTube channel – live?) As Chloe started to work on Tattoo Butterfly, I became even more obsessed with the singles they released, sharing their music with anyone I could and going to my first ever house show to see Chloe perform live. While I fell in love with the SoCal music scene because of all of the amazing artists I came across at local concerts, Chloe was the reason why I attended those shows in the first place.
I bring all of this up for a reason greater than trying to seem cool or like a larger fan of their music than anyone else (even if it’s true!). I honestly think that it’s relevant to the journey of transformation that is portrayed throughout the span of Tattoo Butterfly. It’s undeniable that Chloe has changed over the past few years and grown into their unique identity as both a rockstar and as their own person. Tattoo Butterfly is a gorgeous embrace of Chloe Antoinette’s pursuit of fame and love, repressed queerness, and the terrifying beauty that accompanies personal development and change.
Looking at the Overall Album:
I’m always impressed when artists tell a cohesive story or create a developed theme that is illustrated throughout the entirety of an album. Tattoo Butterfly is a project that absolutely achieves this. From the introductory song, flavorfully named “metamorphosis (intro),” the listener is invited along for the journey that Chloe Antoinette departs on.
This album takes the listener through a story of self-discovery, beginning with a bold pursuit of romantic love. It’s immediately clear however that this love conflicts with existing insecurities surrounding commitment and past trauma. Eventually, this leads into an introspective reckoning of the consequences of these relationships, which allows Chloe to embrace their own personal aspirations and changing identity. I’m greatly moved by the story that is painted in this album and the ability that Chloe has to translate their own life experiences into a piece of art that every listener can personally relate to. As a young person who has been facing similar conflicts, everything on the album really resonated with me on a deeply personal level.
The album’s other strongest feature is Chloe’s immense vocal talent. Chloe’s voice clearly stands out as they achieve ridiculous vocal riffs and flips, strong belting, complimentary harmonies, and soft ballads. This impressive range that is displayed on Tattoo Butterfly allows Chloe to establish themselves as a powerful (both in musical prowess and in emotional vulnerability) force to be reckoned with.
In the future, I would love to see Chloe Antoinette experiment with different instrumental sides of their production. It’s evident how much time and effort has gone into the production of this album, and every time. There are so many incredible moments where the production thrives and Chloe’s band gets to shine (I was originally going to list songs that exemplify this before realizing I was going to list more than half the album). I really enjoy the mix of indie rock and soft pop that fills out the album. At the same time, I sense a lot of untapped potential in their clean sound and would love for Chloe to lean harder into the alternative persona they are pursuing.
Standout Songs:
“way u made me”
This is definitely one of my favorite songs from Tattoo Butterfly and has always been a stand-out song for me. “way u made me” perfectly kicks off the album with a bold, high-energy track. The song is reminiscent of Avril Lavigne and Hayley Williams, which fits Chloe Antoinette really well and immediately establishes their image as a rockstar.
Chloe’s vocals in this song are absolutely unbelievable. This is particularly shown in the song’s bridge, where Chloe performs strings of vocal riffs that show off their large range and breath control. Everything is sung so cleanly and effortlessly that I can’t help but listen in awe.
Overall, this is a super enjoyable track that I put on whenever I want to belt in my car or energize myself.
trash can!
It’s impossible to talk about Tattoo Butterfly without talking about ‘trash can!” This is an absolutely iconic song that itches your need to scream about the stupidest men you have had the misfortune of interacting with. The combination of the expressive vocal production, the clever defiance of patriarchal standards exhibited in the lyrics, the pulsing beat of the drums, added sound effects, and all of the screaming in-between the verses and during the song’s outro make the short song stand out so significantly.
“trash can!” challenges patriarchal expectations in relationships by satirizing the ridiculous demands that women and femme people face before calling out how ridiculous it is for mediocre men to demand perfection from their partners. This song is absolutely addictive and while its short length fits it, I definitely would have eaten up a longer version of “trash can!”
tattoos & butterflies (interlude)
I absolutely adore when an album has an interlude. It provides a brief palette cleanser and as seen in Tattoo Butterfly, further develops the story the artist is trying to create. tattoos & butterflies includes recordings of Chloe speaking, feeling akin to recorded journal entries. I loved hearing Chloe’s own thoughts on the path they’ve taken throughout the creation of Tattoo Butterfly and enjoyed being let in on such personal reminiscing. The way that Chloe is able to weave their speaking with background music transforms this interlude into a deeply sentimental piece that reminds the listener how heartwarming embracing change can be.
fame is overrated but i really really want it
This track is a super catchy, instant classic. In this song, Chloe Antoinette declares their desire to become a famous star. Their bold ambitions are supported with audacious guitars and a melody that’s so catchy that you can’t help but be pulled into their dreams too. I really appreciate the build of the song that develops through its entirety into the song’s outro. This outro is one of my favorite sections of the album as a whole. The guitars in this section are infectious and so enjoyable to listen to, and Chloe’s repeated belting of the lines “Baby I love the taste // Baby I love the chase” in relation to their pursuit of fame is such a strong way to wrap up the track. In terms of its instrumental production, I think this is one of the strongest songs on the album!
711
711 tackles the difficulties of being queer in American society. Chloe calls out different hypocrisies in the U.S., such as firearms being easily accessible in commercial spaces while expressions of queer love are societally condemned and even criminalized. The lyricism in this piece is phenomenal, seen in lines such as “It’s never the time, it’s never the place, so why does it feel so good,” “I’ll wear a dress but not the way that a man does,” and “selling guns at the liquor store, selling love like a criminal.” The song greatly succeeds at capturing queer repression and longing in such a poetic manner. I especially love how this track handles queer existence in terms of loving another person as well as self-expression and gender exploration. Queerness is such a large spectrum that makes up an endless array of experiences, and despite this, Chloe created a song that was so accurately representative of what it feels like to be queer right now.
girlhood
After much reflection, I’ve decided that “girlhood” is my favorite track from Tattoo Butterfly. In “girlhood,” Chloe is presumably singing to a person they used to be in a relationship with, while reflecting on how they have changed since that relationship. This song not only discusses the pain of nostalgia and traumatic relationships that fundamentally shape you into who you are now, but also touches on having a complicated relationship with the idea of “girlhood” while exploring a new gender identity.
The lyrics are straightforward and simple, yet are incredibly impactful. Chloe doesn’t need to say a lot in order to convey the dissonance of living as different versions of yourself that stretches between longing to be the person you want to become and missing the person you once were. Some of my favorite lyrics include: “You miss her now, I do as well. At 22, I’ve been through hell;” “I spent my whole life reinventing myself. I spent my whole life being somebody else;” “Please tell me I’m not the same.” Each of these lines are complexly melancholic, which are achieved through Chloe’s emotional vulnerability. I’m really impressed by the power that this track holds and how much it can communicate within its limited verbiage. In “girlhood,” Chloe Antoinette succeeds as a captivating songwriter who can transform their struggles into works of art that stick with the listener long after they first hear this song.
As a transmasculine person, I relate to this song, but saying it’s relatable diminishes how seen this song makes me feel. Chloe somehow captures feelings of nostalgia, grief, and a bittersweet relationship with their past that I’ve spent years struggling to articulate into words. Transitioning isn’t just a joyful process; it’s a complicated change as you navigate what it means to become a different version of yourself with both yourself and others around you. Girlhood itself as a concept is both such a beautiful and devastating thing to experience. Transitioning in a way that possibly distances you from identifying with girlhood is so convoluted, and Chloe is somehow able to portray this complex shift so clearly in a three-minute song. Everything about this song from its lyrics, enchanting background harmonies, and stunning production, is perfect.
Final Thoughts:
Tattoo Butterfly is truly a work of art. It was incredibly hard to pick out my favorite tracks from this album, as each song is packed with so much love and skill. As Chloe Antoinette’s Tattoo Butterfly era draws to an end, I find myself eagerly anticipating whatever new projects they put out.
On a personal level outside of this review, I’m infinitely proud of Chloe and the artist and person they’ve become. I am genuinely so amazed by the art that they create, and am eager to support any creative endeavor they pursue. Every time I think about Chloe’s journey, I can’t help but feel tears come to my eyes. Change and growth is always possible, and it’s never too late to be the person you dream of being.
Chloe Antoinette is a fucking rockstar, and I hope the world comes to see it too.
If you’d like to support Chloe Antoinette, you can find their music on all streaming services and follow them on their Instagram and YouTube which I will link below!
In addition to being a musician, Chloe is also a filmmaker! They recently created a documentary about the DIY music scene and its relationship with the queer community in the Inland Empire called “Where Do We Go.” I’m hoping for screenings in the future so I can support my friends involved in the project and learn more about the scene. I will also link the Instagram page for the documentary below and encourage you to go check it out!
https://www.instagram.com/chloeantofficial
@chloeantofficial
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRRzkYZvvcmoYSuWN2jDJPA
https://www.instagram.com/wdwgdoc
@wdwgdoc
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