Top Of The World

pwr bttm are earning 10s across the board with their bold, shimmery album pageant.

- Paula Mejia

Ben Hopkins and Liv Bruce—of the queer glitter-punk duo PWR BTTM—are enjoying a rare quiet moment, sitting in the sprawling New York Botanical Garden. Suddenly, reality comes rushing back: Hopkins, who is willowy in stature and nervy in demeanor, frantically checks their phone for the latest update on their passport, which was left on a flight and is still lost in the United States airport system. (Hopkins, 25, identifies as queer and uses they/them/their pronouns, and Bruce, 24, identifies as queer, nonbinary, and transfeminine and uses they/them/their pronouns.) It’s not ideal, considering that the Brooklyn-based band is slated to travel to the United Kingdom in just a few days to kick o the world tour for their second album, the plaintive Pageant, released in May.

“You wanna know what’s really great?” Hopkins says. “The guy from JetBlue says, ‘Sorry we lost your shit. We can’t help you. But, hey, we’re coming to your show in Salt Lake City! See you there!’”

“We’re going to shoot them out of a cannon,” Bruce deadpans, a cheeky smile curling at the corner of their lips. It’s no consolation to Hopkins, though.

“The people who lost my passport are coming to the gig. Life is a cruel, fucked-up thing,” Hopkins says.

But Bruce offers a potential silver lining: “What if he’s hot?” It works. “I’m going to go to the passport place tomorrow, first thing,” Hopkins concedes.