Let me take you back to early 2022, to a TikTok trend that had us all asking what type of “it girl” we were. Friend groups would post photos of each other under a trending supercut of various songs that mention women’s names, ascribing different “it girl” personas to each other. A canon of their personalities formed before our very eyes, with each girl taking on an unspoken but consistently agreed upon vibe. These girls included: Rosemary (“Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)” – Edison Lighthouse), Jessie’s girl (“Jessie’s Girl” – Rick Springfield), Heather (“Heather” – Conan Gray), Stacy’s mom (“Stacy’s Mom” – Fountains of Wayne), Delilah (“Hey There Delilah” – Plain White T’s), Roxanne (“Roxanne” – The Police), Michelle (“Michelle” – Sir Chloe), Lucy (“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” – The Beatles), Ophelia (“Ophelia” – The Lumineers), Olivia (“Olivia” – One Direction) and Eileen (“Come On Eileen” – Dexy’s Midnight Runners). This list boasts a decently even mix of well known songs and songs brought to the modern zeitgeist by TikTok. One of these newcomers was “Michelle” by Sir Chloe. Stereotyped as a weird and slightly gothic but ultimately intriguing “it girl,” “Michelle” invited questioning about both her fictional character and the band who created her. Not every TikTok band is a breakout hit, but sometimes, it is worth searching for hidden gems. Sir Chloe is decidedly one of those gems. Roughly 3 years later, Sir Chloe remains worth paying attention to.

Sir Chloe is a deeply confusing piece of performance art. Is this a band or is this a solo act? Is the frontman’s name Chloe? Is she even a woman at all? I can only answer one of these questions: the frontman’s name is Dana Foote. The (maybe) group chose “Chloe” as a representation of the feminine and “sir” as a representation of the masculine. Sir Chloe is an experiment in music, gender and just how weird someone can be on their Instagram stories. My point in saying this is that beyond the 5 second sound bite, Sir Chloe has a truly strange take on music and performance that is worth watching. If anything in this oddity sounds intriguing, check out their sophomore album released Aug. 22, “Swallow the Knife.”

Part of Sir Chloe’s charm is how haunting they sound. Despite the act’s fairly young age—formed in 2017 while its members were in college—the group perfectly captures the essence of 90’s grunge. Performances are messy and offputting, the vocals are raw and, most importantly, sometimes you feel like you are having a heart attack because of their bass lines. Some of these things do not translate to studio albums, but Sir Chloe pulls most of it off, more so in their albums “Swallow the Knife” and “I am the Dog” than their breakout EP “Party Favors.” In a music scene that requires constant reinvention to chase soundbites on TikTok, it is wonderfully ironic that Sir Chloe has been able to develop a cohesively morose sound after their initial internet success. They have truly moved on, and while that does mean they haven’t achieved megastardom through the algorithm, it shows a commitment to the honesty of their music. Sir Chloe does not disappoint their fans; fans will leave their album upset but vindicated.

The main body of “Swallow the Knife” tracks Foote’s journey leaving and dealing with the fallout of an abusive relationship. This theme really shines through in their second single, “Passenger.” Backed up by classic grunge guitar and wailing vocals, Foote mourns her time in the relationship, referring to her former partner as a “passenger,” or a part of her life that she carried around and got used to. Now, without them, the singer struggles to find their place in the world. In a similarly somber vein follows “Holy,” a shoegaze track about idolizing one’s partner. In classic God and worshiper imagery, the singer is set up as a “holy man” that is enthralled by their partner. The production on this track was a stand out for me. When the holy man states their role, their voice is backed by a soft chorus that gives a trance-like feel. It is deeply menacing and beautiful. At the same time, the lyrics ask the listener to question the benevolence of the singer’s god in repeating that they can “take a sacrifice” and generally get their way with the singer. It is a nice twist on a Shakespearean romantic dynamic. Love is all consuming and holy, but when one cannot tell where they begin and their partner ends, it is a bad sign. “Passenger” and “Holy” combine to show how deep the impact of the abusive relationship was on the singer. They are fundamentally changed by it and in attempting to document their feelings, they dig up deep anger.

The album starts to lose some rage in the back half with “Eyes” and “Too Much (Not Enough).” These two tracks take a hard left turn into mournful ballads that are beautiful but ultimately out of place. Arguably, this hard tonal shift represents conflicting emotions about leaving the relationship, being both vengefully angry and crushed. While a nice artistic statement, at barely over half an hour, the album does not have legs to stand on for this shift. The strong start does not feed into a mellow end; instead, it gives into a disappointing drop off. Again, this may have been intentional to capture the feeling of having the rug pulled out from under you in an abusive relationship, but it doesn’t quite work. Admittedly, “Too Much (Not Enough)” is up there as one of my favorite Sir Chloe tracks. The deeply personal lament about how tiring the downfall of a relationship can be makes it a perfect song to listen to and just feel. “Too Much (Not Enough)” can hold its own on a break up playlist, not just this album.

The album closes on “Candy,” an odd tonal choice, but a nice note to end on in the context of their discography. Furthering that haunting feel that Sir Chloe is known for, “Candy” has two very short verses and prechoruses, before devolving into sad repetitive “Doo-doo-doo-ah.” It becomes very clear that the singer is not handling their breakup well and invites the reader into that sadness. The spiteful angry person the listener was introduced to at the start of the album is now just tired and lonely. “Candy” really solidifies the fact that the harsh shift at the center of the album was probably intentional. “Swallow the Knife” has a deliberately unresolved end for an album about something people really may never get over.

I had the pleasure of going to one of their shows a few years ago, and it was a great experience. They keep their tickets under $30 before fees and tend to play smaller, more intimate venues, so I’ve never paid more than $45 to see them. If you want to catch them in person, Sir Chloe will be performing in Cleveland over fall break on Oct. 19 at the Globe Iron. Go be sad, angry and probably freaked out.