Xenya Genovese’s upcoming album ‘Amulet’ is the second LP to be released under her moniker Freak Slug. It slams onto the table two major aspects of her identity she refuses to keep contained any longer: her connection to spirituality, and her pride in being a Northern woman. With medieval imagery and undeniable Manchester swagger woven together against a moody shoegaze backdrop, ‘Amulet’ is a tell-all collage that doesn’t shy away from the ugly truth of womanhood.
Genovese hops onto our Zoom chat on her phone, puffing on a cig in her back garden. When the topic of spirituality rears its head, she quickly heads back inside. “This isn’t the neighbours’ business.”
Despite being keen to ward off eavesdroppers, Genovese is proud of her spiritual side.
“I don’t give a shit anymore. Spiritual people face so much bullshit when talking about things like past lives. I’m sick of it. I’m gonna say what I believe to be true. That’s why, in this album, I’m not shying away from it. It isn’t about whether it resonates with people or not; I have to be true to myself now.”
Genovese’s discovery of her past life was something of an accident. She sought the advice of a spiritual woman whom she admired and trusted, with the hope of getting to the bottom of an issue she’s dealt with since childhood: she hates being looked at by strangers. The conversation naturally became a past life reading as answers were revealed to her in visions.
“In my past life, I was a healer in Celtic lands at a time when women were being killed and religion was infiltrating. I was married to a man and had to run away from him because I found out I was going to get killed the next day. I ran away and hid for years, and then came back and found my sister had been killed instead of me. I died in that life with so much anger.
“Men were scared of the female intuition, and because of that, they killed women.”
“My life now is really strongly linked to that life. Since childhood, I have exhibited witch wounds. The reason I get angry when being seen by strangers is because I had to hide my identity, and was forever on edge. It doesn’t make sense in this life — there’s no place for it — but when you have an intense life like that, healing takes multiple lifetimes. Making music is helping me understand that. Hopefully by the time I die in this life, I will have healed from the majority of that pain.”
The choice to become a musician may seem an unusual one for someone who hates to be looked at, but Genovese explains that music is a powerful tool towards healing, allowing her to be seen through her craft without those physical eyeballs on her.
“I can’t escape [being seen]. We have to choose to face up to these things in some incarnation, and Freak Slug is mine.”
Even in the modern day, public perceptions of spirituality are a bone of contention for Genovese. ‘Black Eyes,’ a track from the upcoming album, delves into the uncomfortable truth that dismissal is not only frustrating, but dangerous. While the lyrics could be understood to explore male violence against women in a way that feels relevant to the present, Genovese reveals this wasn’t the vision she had in mind.
“‘Black Eye’ is about my past life. It’s about anger towards a man who is so dismissive of a woman and her spirituality, and just has none of it. It pisses me off to see these men still lingering today, because back then they would’ve been a danger to society; men were scared of the female intuition, and because of that, they killed women. Some men, and women too, are still so unaware and unwilling to learn about these other worlds. That back then would have cost our fucking lives.
“I do encourage people to interpret the lyrics in their own way; wherever they’re at in their lives, as long as it’s helping them process something, that’s cool. The lyrics all across the album are so potent and deep, and will speak to anybody regardless of spiritual beliefs.”
Elsewhere on the record, lyrics explore the many facets that make up femininity. ‘Girl, Intentions,’ the first single, features an interpolation of Nina Simone’s ‘Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,’ while the title is a nod to seminal film Girl, Interrupted.
Genovese highlights the importance of meshing together these contrasting examples of womanhood, which led her to sing more prominently than ever in her Manchester accent.
“I have seen so many men singing in regional accents but I don’t see that on the female side. That’s a load of bollocks. Why isn’t it happening? I think I know why. Politically and historically in England, Northerners are seen as more common. Men are allowed to be boisterous, blunt, rough and ready, whereas women need to be soft and sweet. All the history and judgement live inside you on a subliminal level. So men can get away with expressing their Northern-ness, but as a woman, it’s like, woah. I just decided, fuck that, I’m going to sing how I speak. If not me, who? They have been doing it since the fucking ‘90s, that was 30 years ago, and [the double standard] is still never spoken about. It’s time for change; women are going to get away with it too. It’s what the world needs.
‘Amulet’ was recorded in London, then finished off in Los Angeles. Being in the overly-polished LA presented difficulties in maintaining the grit of the album’s sound.
“Men can get away with expressing their Northern-ness, but as a woman, it’s like, woah. I just decided, fuck that, I’m going to sing how I speak.”
“Going forward, I want to record in England. LA’s sunny vibes are really affecting. I’m mostly inspired by Manchester music — I love the attitude and charm — and it saddens me to think the world doesn’t know the extent of how sick English music is. Like, why are The Libertines not worldwide? I want to keep that grit and charm [in my own music], and its not easy when you’re affected by the everyday sun.”
Despite bringing together such contrasting aspects of her identity, cohesion was never a concern for Genovese when making the album.
“I don’t ever want to make an album that sounds like one song 12 different ways. Albums need high moments of tension and then release; beauty and then ugly. Somebody criticised my previous album for not being cohesive. Fuck that, why should an album be anything? Why are we sticking to what albums were 50 years ago? It’s 2026, wake up. Albums should be whatever the fuck the artist wants them to be, and this is what I want.”
Letting go of traditional structure afforded her further sonic experimentation straying from the shoegaze path and veering into punk-edged guitar pop.
“I’ve always loved shoegaze and always will. It’s still a sick vibe to have on this album even, if it’s just in moments. But because the album is processing such deep anger, the grit and attitude and heaviness need to be there. There’s a juxtaposition of light and dark, as there always will be with me.”
The experimentation reached further heights on the track ‘Serpent:’ “Serpent was not meant to be an album song; it was like ‘Planet Caravan’ by Black Sabbath, we were just playing around with bongos. But I couldn’t let it go. We kept that psychedelic part, put autotune on my voice and I sang through a megaphone. I hate the word ‘psychedelic’ — it gives me the ick — but that’s what it is. We tuned it up and we saved it.”
Genovese is certain that being a musician is her destiny, but that doesn’t mean it comes without its challenges.
“Touring is really hard: being in a new place every day, tired, hungover, losing my voice, and still having to play a show. It’s debilitating for my health, which is hard for me as I love to take care of my body. But that’s the sacrifice; every job takes a toll in some way. It’s the nature of having a physical vessel and doing things that aren’t natural; the world today is not a natural world, so everything we do goes against our bodies.
“You just have to fucking keep going. The closer you get to a place you want to be, the more you want to give up. It’s not for everyone, though. A lot of people want to be a musician, but some do it for the wrong reasons — for ego or to look cool — and your spirit won’t reward you for that, because you are going against your own destiny. You have to follow what you think is right.
‘Amulet’ is due for release on September 18. Its first single ‘Girl, Intentions’ is out now.
