It’s been nearly two years since Devin McKnight departed Massachusetts-bred rockers Speedy Ortiz, setting out on his own to head up Maneka. With the announcement of the solo project’s debut full-length last month, McKnight is sharing his second single from the record, “My Queen,” which features the distinct backing vocals of Speedy mastermind Sadie Dupuis. Yet it’s far from ’90s-alt guitar rock the duo once played together:
“The lyrics of the song are about God instructing [King] Tut to consummate with Nefertiti because she’s special and also of alien descent,” McKnight explains of the songs origins, citing an episode of Ancient Aliens he caught while writing the record. Perhaps inadvertently, the riffs on “My Queen” are as high-voltage as the electric encounter that inspired Giorgio Tsoukalos’ hairstyle, continually vying with the duet of McKnight’s distorted vocals and Dupuis’ signature balm over the track’s two minutes.
“This song is dedicated to Tom DeLonge from Blink-182,” McKnight concludes, announcing his solidarity with the sci-fi writer, conspiracy expert, and, yes, Blink frontman. “We’re with you man.”
Devin is out July 26 on Exploding in Sound. You can pre-order it here.
