SPOTLIGHT: Sam Quealy Channels Resistance, Feminine Force on ‘JAWBREAKER’
REVIEW
REVIEW
☆ BY KIMBERLY KAPELA ☆
DANCE THROUGH DARKNESS — Techno-pop princess Sam Quealy returns sharper, bolder, and more emotionally exposed on her sophomore album JAWBREAKER, out January 30. A fearless creative chameleon with a rock star’s nerve and a performance artist’s intuition, Quealy bends pop to her will, shapeshifting between sound, style, and spectacle with an ease that feels almost supernatural.
Where her debut Blonde Venus thrived on volatile techno-pop experimentation, JAWBREAKER marks a deliberate evolution. This time, Quealy trades some of the sharp-edged electronics for a more lavish, tactile sound built on live instrumentation. Blonde Venus was about experimentation, take “Valentine” and “Big Cat” for example. JAWBREAKER, by contrast, leans into disco grooves, warmth and a surprising lightness without ever losing its bite.
“This time, I wanted to challenge myself more and explore new ways of still having a dance electronic record, but with different instruments and a more organic voice to try to get the message of what this album is,” Quealy says to Luna. “Blonde Venus is very bad bitch and JAWBREAKER is the bad bitch that's got feelings.”
Pulsing synths collide with Eurodance energy and disco shimmer in album opener “Londontown,” immediately immersing the listener in Quealy’s universe. It’s a world fueled by resistance, where joy, movement, and collective release overpower the dread and uncertainty of today’s socio-political climate.
“JAWBREAKER was definitely made during a reflection of very dark, hard times for everyone,” Quealy says. “That pushed me to want to do more of a disco album, because I feel really good when I listen to disco. Recording this album was a way that I could escape from everything, and I hope that other people can find a bit of breath, a bit of escape in this album, too.”
But make no mistake, though JAWBREAKER is an electro-dance project, “the spirit is very rock n’ roll,” according to Quealy.
“Starlight” is built on glistening disco beats and hypnotic grooves that are for collective release. One of the album’s brightest stars, the track channels resistance through joy, through bodies moving together, through the radical act of dancing when the world feels heavy. It’s euphoric and a reminder that pleasure itself can be a form of protest.
Unmistakably, the album’s most magnetic turn comes with “Strings of Terror,” a slow-burn standout steeped in seduction. A cocktail of whispery, breathy moans coil around Quealy’s vocals as they glide effortlessly over the track’s sleek, simmering production. Its intimate energy pulls the listener closer with every exhale.
“I felt like this album is like a traveling album, so the deeper I went into it, I didn't know if I was running away from something or running towards something, but it just felt like there was always movement,” Quealy reveals. “It tells a lot of different stories about heartbreak or toxic love situations, and also finding love and finding stability in love.”
“Love Lasso” is a wild ride from the jump. Driven by deep basslines and whirling synths that ebb and flow like a fever dream, the track radiates an irresistible, dancefloor-ready energy. Quealy’s vocals lean into ominous romanticism as she sings, “Love lasso / Hold me tight / Wrap me up in your arms tonight / Together we’ll ride through love’s wild west.” It’s a tale of obsession and desire, capturing what Quealy describes as “a toxic love that you keep coming back to even if it’s bad for you,” one that’s thrilling, dangerous and impossible to quit.
JAWBREAKER pulses from an unapologetically feminine core — sensual, feral and in constant motion. It’s feminine energy with teeth, one unafraid to break rules or to move on the dance floor. Quealy treats femininity as something lived and felt, not performed. On tracks like “Girls Night” and “Pussy Power,” she leans fully into that heat, turning movement into seduction and pleasure into power. This is shapeshifting femininity that refuses to sit still, commanding attention and dancing through the night without apology.
On “Girls Night,” Quealy lets loose with a flirtatious, high-energy pop anthem made for pregame rituals before hitting the dance floor.
Then there’s “Pussy Power,” an electrifying declaration of divine feminine force. “I want power / Do you feel my power / The feminine power,” Quealy chants, leaning fully into electro-hyperpop excess. It’s bold, fun, and unafraid to take up space — a shapeshifting, genre-blending standout that distills the spirit of JAWBREAKER into one fearless, body-moving moment.
“It's so important for the women in music to keep releasing and keep being unapologetically themselves,” Quealy says. “I love having a very strong stage presence and in my messages as well. I scream, ‘PUSSY POWER’ and ‘FEMININE POWER’ over and over. It's this chant, like a war cry, and I can't wait to do that live on stage.”
Title track, “Jawbreaker,” sits at the heart of the album like a glittering manifesto. Quealy pours every ounce of her Eurodance and electro-pop obsessions into this one: high-register vocals bubble over unapologetically pop-saturated production, recalling the ecstatic sheen of Madonna’s Confessions on a Dance Floor. Tracks like “Say My Name” and “Flying Solo” continue the Eurodance thread, exuding the same magnetic feminine energy, perfect for moving bodies and commanding attention.
“By My Side” pairs Quealy with producer and collaborator Marlon Magnée, layering her signature slick electro-pop sound with a shimmering dose of vintage cosmic disco. The result is blissed-out and radiant, a melody that feels both intimate and expansive.
Then comes “Love Fountain,” the album’s emotional and sonic revelation, a closing track that lands like a guided meditation. No wonder it’s the grand finale of JAWBREAKER. Soft, melodic vocals envelop the listener in healing energy as Quealy whispers, “I am here to heal you / I am here to take away from your pain and relieve you … Let me heal you from your pain and let me regenerate your soul / This is love fountain.” Her voice cracks with raw emotion; French slips into the mix. The track is part affirmation, part meditation, part breathing exercise set to music, a charged, intimate finale that anchors JAWBREAKER in both movement and feeling.
“I wanted to have a really raw voice, like in ‘Love Fountain,’ you can hear my voice cracking sometimes because I'm emotional and we decided to keep it in,” Quealy shares. “I also spoke a little bit of French in that song, which I was not that confident with, but I think it sounds really nice in the final recording that I'm almost hesitating. This album used a lot more live instruments, because, of course, it's an electronic album, but we recorded some stuff at Studio Ferber, which is a very iconic studio in Paris where Serge Gainsbourg recorded.”
Quealy admits that “Love Fountain” is her personal favorite and the one closest to her heart. Vulnerable yet radiant, it was almost left off the album, but in the end it became the perfect way to conclude the project.
“It’s the closing track, and at first I didn't want to put this song on the album because I felt very vulnerable compared to the other songs I've released,” Quealy reveals. “It ended up being my favorite because it's this meditation trance song. I'm speaking very sincerely and vulnerably in this song, and I think it's showing a new side of me.”
JAWBREAKER is a manifesto of movement, emotion and unapologetic feminine power. Quealy proves she can be a shapeshifter, a disco siren, a rock star and a pop provocateur all at once. She channels feminine energy that is fearless, fluid, and intoxicating, unapologetically taking up space both sonically and emotionally. It’s an album that makes you want to move, to surrender, and to revel in the power of pleasure and presence.
