After setting online circles alight as a teenager in her bedroom in Baton Rouge, the elusive producer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist Portraits of Tracy became a fascinating contender for the pop music’s evolution. Today, she announces an EP which sees her step boldly — and brightly — into the light: Q: From Where Do Our Primal Instincts Originate A: MTV! out July 24.

Presave Q: From Where Do Our Primal Instincts Originate A: MTV! here.

Disruptive, experimental, and ultra-vivid, Tracy’s sound draws on indelible memories: a childhood spent locked into DC hardcore, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, and when MTV reigned supreme. “Caught In A Jam,” the lead single also out today, is a retrofuturistic anthem. Written for a space age lounge with punchy, Gary Numan-style synths and a belting power chorus that feels like Carole King astral projected into a Starfleet ship, Tracy twists the past into an uncanny vision of a far flung future.

Listen to and watch the visualizer for “Caught In A Jam” here.

“Caught In A Jam” arrives with a suitably kitsch music video with Tracy in a 60s space suit, green-screened into a cardboard metropolis fighting an “alien” invasion. On the track, she shares: “‘Caught In A Jam’ is a brash love letter to bands such as Squeeze, Tom Tom Club, and Queen. Space age obsession meets the sound and the urgency of the late 70s.”

Of the EP’s vision, Tracy says it’s “a loud and playful glimpse into who I am as a person and a musician. Drawing from acts like Stereolab and The Beach Boys, to Dead Kennedys and Dag Nasty, you know it’s bound to be a fun time.”

Q: From Where Do Our Primal Instincts Originate A: MTV! is a playful successor to 2023’s Drive Home. An extraordinary statement of autonomy and sonic freedom, the 18-track concept record is an analogy for Tracy’s own journey in accepting herself as transgender and finding her voice as a Black, queer teen raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Through the lens of Junie, the album’s central character, Tracy frantically whips between elements of classic rock, hip-hop, R&B, soul, and psychedelic indie rock to tell a story of family, belonging, and the importance of staying true to your gut — all guided by her prodigious musical talent.

This EP marks a confident new stage in her evolution, one where she reintroduces herself in glorious technicolor. Get ready to hit play on a whole new level from Portraits of Tracy.