Vampires seem to represent humanity’s fear of what lurks in the shadows—fanged and bloodthirsty, they gaze out from the darkness, searching for prey. For Portland musician Mira Glitterhound, vampires possess the power she craves in her disempowering experiences as a trans woman. With her band Sweeping Exits, Glitterhound positions the creatures as agents of revenge in cinematic glam-punk narratives that turn others’ hate into sustenance.
Though she’s played under the Sweeping Exits moniker for about 10 years, Glitterhound introduced this concept with their 2016 EP The Projectionist. In velvety compositions that pull from baroque pop, doo-wop, and rock operas, she told the story of a projectionist who devours predatory men in her movie theater’s audience until they’re reduced to bones.