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Photo: Joe Perri

We may already be well into summer, but aldn is just heating up. The 21-year-old genre-eschewing artist made waves earlier this year with the release of his good grief EP, an experimental exploration of the mourning process. Not one to rest on his laurels, he’s already been spotted in the studio with none other than Travis Barker, is set to head out on tour with glaive this fall, and returns today with a surefire summer hit.

“sydney” sees aldn returning to his hyperpop roots, musing on infatuation, loneliness, and an enigmatic girl who holds the key to it all. Backed by a driving drum beat, infectious guitar line, and gritty production that calls to mind everything from the genre-pushing heyday of hyperpop to the enthralling grime of New York indie rock, aldn throws himself into the deep end, ready to lose himself in the arms of a fantasy.

“Oh God, what I’d give just to be that cool / I wanna be just like her, I wanna / Not give a fuck about what you heard, I need / Cheap drugs, expensive clothes, sings aldn. The lines transform “sydney” into another hyperpop-fueled rehashing of unreciprocated love and a multi-faceted fixation on an ideal, imagined or otherwise. The standout single also arrives alongside a Tommy Bauer-directed music video that balances the rush of a chance meeting at a house party with the halcyon haze of a listless day spent at the beach.  

Watch the “sydney” video below: