Music Crowns is proud to premiere Living Outside the Closet, the latest release from Belgium-based queer indie-pop artist Roil. Arriving as a deeply personal and emotionally articulate body of work, the album marks a significant moment in ROIL’s evolving artistry. Blending intimate songwriting with atmospheric indie-pop production, the project offers a candid exploration of identity, masculinity, heartbreak, and healing, positioning ROIL as a compelling voice in the contemporary alternative-pop landscape.
Across eleven tracks, Living Outside the Closet unfolds as a diaristic journey through self-discovery and emotional reconstruction. Songs such as “bedroom cry” and “Outside the Closet” set the tone with raw vulnerability, while “Straight Guy” and “Shittier Than Goodbye” confront desire and heartbreak with unflinching honesty. Rather than relying on dramatic resolution, ROIL leans into emotional realism, capturing the complexities of queer experience as something fluid, ongoing, and often unresolved.
Sonically, the record draws from a wide palette of influences, weaving together indie-pop sensibilities with alternative textures and understated production. Echoes of artists such as Conan Gray, Troye Sivan, Phoebe Bridgers, and Rex Orange County can be felt throughout, though Roil filters these inspirations through his own distinct perspective. The result is a soundscape that feels both contemporary and deeply personal, allowing lyrical intimacy to remain at the forefront.
At the heart of the album is Roil’s ability to balance emotional weight with moments of wit and self-awareness. Tracks like “manhood” dissect masculinity with a rare blend of humour and sincerity, while “I don’t mind” offers a quiet sense of resilience in the aftermath of emotional hardship. This tonal duality gives the record its depth, reflecting the contradictions inherent in navigating identity, relationships, and self-worth.
With Living Outside the Closet, Roil delivers a debut that is as reflective as it is resonant. It is an album that does not seek to define its subject but rather to understand it in real time. Music Crowns is proud to premiere this release, spotlighting an artist whose honesty, sensitivity, and emotional clarity mark him as one to watch within the indie-pop space.
“With Living Outside the Closet, ROIL delivers a deeply personal yet universally relatable debut; fearless, emotional, and unapologetically honest. His ability to blend vulnerability, humour, and alternative pop sensibilities makes this record feel both intimate and timely,” shares music publicist Danielle Holian, Decent Music PR.
