Linda Perry has always worn her heart on her sleeve.
Since her breakthrough as the lead singer of 4 Non Blondes, the out-and-proud lesbian performer has never shied away from being her authentic self in her personal and professional endeavors.
It's hard to believe that 25 years have gone by since Perry's last album, but the talented musician says her latest body of work is worth the wait. Her vulnerable new record, titled Let It Die Here, was written in only three weeks following the loss of her mother in 2023.
"I come from a very different place musically. This album is very deep, very personal, and very emotional. My mother passed and all of these emotions showed up. I come from a place of honesty. I'm not the person you go to for hits. If you want depth, I'm the person you come to," Perry tells Out.
Let It Die Here's lyrical journey begins with Perry's teenage years in San Diego, where she spent the majority of her time with her very diverse group of friends as they partied in Balboa Park.
"We were freaks! It was all my queer friends, all my punks, the drag queens, the drug addicts, all of us partied in one park. Although I was troubled and homeless, it was one of the funnest times of my life. There was an innocence in the recklessness and darkness." As the album progresses, Perry dives into troubling experiences throughout her life, including abuse, her mother’s death, and finding peace in her life without her mother’s presence.
Although her storytelling drives each song on the raw new record, Perry also stars in an accompanying documentary titled Let It Die Here. What originally began as social media capture from filmmaker Don Hardy eventually resulted in a very moving film that Perry had a very hard time watching.
"It's not a fluff piece at all. I didn't set out to make a documentary. It's the last thing I'd want to do. I'm not that girl. It’s pretty emotional and extremely embarrassing at times. He had to force me to watch it. It was a hard watch for sure, but if it can just move one person and help them, then I've done my job."
Perry's undeniable skills have helped her sustain an impressive career in the music industry for decades, but even she admits that the talent seen dominating the scene today is very different from her humble beginnings.
"There's people that shouldn't be out there playing music. There's people on TikTok that would never see the light of day if it wasn't for social media. We lost the rock star. We lost the intimacy. We lost the mystery. Labels are ridiculous. All they do is sign people that have followers now."
Despite all of the rapid changes in modern society, Perry admits that Taylor Swift has created a very strong fanbase that resembles the passion that rock bands had in the '80s.
"How do we get our fans to support in the way that we need them? Maybe they just don't know. The Swifties do! Those kids are loyal as fuck. They're really invested! Sometimes they can get a little over the top, but hey, who am I?"
Similar to the music world, the political landscape has vastly evolved over the years, but Perry has learned to rely on her family and the LGBTQ+ community to navigate the hostile climate.
"We've had dickheads like Trump before. This is elevated because he really is a moron, but it's also elevated because we don't know what's real or fake. The gay community is probably always going to have struggles, just like women. I don't want to be equal to a man. Why would I? I don't want to be equal, but I do want to be seen as valid and important."
The singer is also reminding all queer people to stand up and stick together to face any further adversities that are likely to come under the current administration.
"The community has always been strong. We've been fighting for a very long time. We will continue to fight and we always come up. We always survive. We're always the underdog that will prevail and be standing here. You know who won't be? Trump."
The Let It Die Here album and documentary both drop today. To see the full interview with Linda Perry, check out the video at the top of the page.
