“… understanding that feeling of what it’s like to come out and live your truth openly, after you felt like you had to hide it for a long time… it’s liberating and wonderful to see and hear (PUF) be able to do that.” – Amythyst Kiah (of Our Native Daughters) via Americana Music Association
Public Universal Friend (PUF) is a Portland, Oregon-based queer Appalachian doom punk band fronted by songwriter, author, and tender goth oracle baddie Jody Galadriel Friend. Since their debut, PUF has galvanized their reputation as a collective dedicated to vulnerability and power through art and community, providing solace for the uniquely kindred souls; the sad and angry, the disenfranchised, and the tender hearts.
After a decade of writing and touring as a solo artist, Friend came out publicly as a trans woman with the release of 2021’s Perennials, introducing to the to the world both her personal and artistic rebirth, reflected in tracks like the album opener “Firestarter,” repeating, “you’re afraid, I think, when I am visible, threatened by what I don’t hide.” The earthy art rock opus brings Friend’s warm alto and infectious songwriting to the fore, colored by sonic roots of post-punk, 90s emo, and echoes of Friend’s native Appalachian folk and hymnary.
photo by Courtney Brooks
PUF’s 2023 sophomore release Chrysalis is laced with the bold romance and profound grief of southern gothic deconstruction, wherein Friend’s poetic incantations carry pointed lyricism: a vindictive queering of her homegrown southern sound. Since its live debut, the first single “Jesus Pt. 1” became a local queer ex-vangelical anthem, written for those ostracized by certain southern church cultures having dogmatically cast trans folks as “an abomination” to which Friend leans in and nearly whispers, “then I guess I’ll see you all in hell.” Though it is written from Friend’s own experience, this isn’t a new story, as the record creates a platform for the conversation to reach a broader audience and provide a place of solidarity and healing for listeners: queer and allies alike.
The following years of touring, festivals, and media appearances by Friend and her team long based out of Indianapolis, the collective of fashion designers, music video film crews, merch artists, recording collaborators, and a band growing to seven members found a way to thrive within America’s heartland, serving as a rare artistic representation of the trans experience within a state known nationally for its discrimination toward trans populations.
Friend released her memoir Transangelicism: memoir of a transgender ex-vangelical in October 2024, followed by her move to Portland, Oregon the following year, where Public Universal Friend is reforming as a new iteration with their third release, Cataclysm, in 2026.
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