Kevin Bronson on June 27th, 2023

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Desert Mambas is the solo project of Bailey Moses, guitarist for Foxx Bodies. Far from the caffeinated angst of that quartet, Moses dishes out dreamy guitar-pop and roots-rock as Desert Mambas (a nod to the songwriter’s Tucson, Ariz., roots).

This week, Desert Mambas will release their debut EP, “… But It’s a Dry Heat.” At four quick songs clocking in at under 10 minutes, it’s nonetheless quite affecting, especially the lead track “In the Middle.”

“‘In the Middle’ is about me coming to terms with and figuring out what it means to be a trans nonbinary person,” Moses says. “In the beginning, I struggled with how to explain my identity to people like my parents who had absolutely no concept or language to understand what it meant. I wrote this song thinking I needed to be extra secure in my understanding of this identity in order to field all of the inevitably ignorant questions that would come my way. But the truth is, my gender is an ever-evolving and beautiful thing. And as scary as it can be, existing in the nebulous middle space has been one of the most liberating parts of my life.”

The release of “In the Middle” was preceded by “Buzz Cut Blues,” of which Moses says: “Haircuts can play such a crucial role in queer identity. ‘Buzz Cut Blues’ is an ode to that pivotal first queer haircut — a moment that can be equal parts liberating and absolutely terrifying.”

Ajo De Tierra stars in the video for “In the Middle,” directed by Brit Ko. The video for “Buzz Cut Blues” was directed by Penelope Uribe-Abee.

||| Stream: “In the Middle” and “Buzz Cut Blues”

||| Watch: The videos for the songs for the songs.

||| Live: Desert Mambas celebrate the release of “… But It’s a Dry Heat” with a show July 16 at Resident. Tickets.