• News

• All

May 12, 2023 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Devonte Johnson

External Signal is the new indie pop project led by singer/songwriter Maxwell Moore. Moore first got their start playing with noise rock bands in their native Oklahoma, but during the pandemic years, they began writing their own music and started their label, Bug Body Records. In 2020 they released their first music as External Signal, a cover of Gorillaz’ “Rhinestone Eyes,” but today they’re back with their official debut single, “Nonbiney,” premiering with Under the Radar.

As listeners can likely tell, “Nonbiney” was primarily inspired by the fluid boundaries of Moore’s own gender expression. As they describe, the track was meant to mirror their own experience with gender, resulting in a driving power pop track, laden with fuzzy guitar riffs, hazy lo-fi vocals, and colorful melodies. They lean into Moore’s talent for pop hooks but they also bury them within noisy ramshackle effects, leaving the track feeling sweet and confessional without losing its off-kilter DIY charm. Meanwhile, Moore’s lyrics explore the internal complexities of their expressionー“Feeling fake again / Put new clothes on my skin / I’ll cut my hair and then / I’m just a little bit closer.”

As they explain, “I wanted to make music that felt genuinely like myself in every aspect of the song. With ‘Nonbiney’ I accomplished that goal. It’s loud, messy, fun, and emotional.”

Check out the song below, along with the accompanying video, constructed by the Philadelphia-based visual artists, datacats.