EP Review: Keelan Mak – Boy’s In Love (2024 EP) [Video]

With the release of the much-anticipated EP Boy’s In Love, Melbourne/Naarm’s Keelan Mak returns to the forefront of Australian pop armed with a fresh brand of club-ready pop tunes primed for summer listening. Proving a worthy successor to 2022s Brave Face EP, the strong introductions from singles “Drift” and “Straight with Me” were excellent showcases to Mak’s musical direction and the deeper exploration of love, identity, and sexual self-acceptance.

Through this EP, Mak unapologetically centers his perspective as a queer artist, bringing a personal and celebratory approach to the themes that define both his life and art.

“This body of work is really about feeling happy and like myself for the first time,” Mak shares, reflecting on the intentions behind Boy’s In Love. “Earlier in my career, I was often encouraged to sell a ‘queer narrative,’ but it never felt genuine. I was partly scared to be openly queer in the public eye, but it also didn’t feel right to …