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Sitting at just under two minutes, “headstrong gunner” is aldn’s latest offering to alternative rock and nightcore. It’s infectiously dance-y and uptempo, contrasting its themes of betrayal, death, and self-induced abandonment.

aldn plays the narrator on “headstrong gunner,” omnisciently watching a meek heart be consumed by paranoia. Both the voice of reason and an incessant taunting, it’s hard to tell whether or not aldn is on their side, though his ruthless honesty is a wake-up call for anyone blissfully blind in love.

The Virginia-raised, NY-based artist wrote and produced the alternative track alongside Gabe Greenland, always having his hands entirely in the pot. That’s perhaps why he’s made music that so intimately feels like an extension of him — to listen to aldn is to know aldn. 

Emotionally gaunt, his hyperpop sound continues to morph into deeper shades of punk, evolving with him as an artist. After dropping his EP post spring self destruction, wrapping up a headline tour, and being named one of Pigeons and Plane’s 2023 Artists To Watch, he’s only just now stepping into his seeding stardom, eagerly waiting to meet his next iteration.

The video for "headstrong gunner" is a mashup of quick-fire single shots, meeting the rapid pace of the single in perfect tempo. With a bleeding heart and overflowing cup of coffee, we’re left just as disoriented as the song’s protagonist. As aldn shakes us both awake, we’re only left with a sobering truth and a merciless track to be soothed by.

Watch the "headstrong gunner" video below: