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Photo: Harry Toohey

LA-based singer-songwriter jxdn has finally delivered to fans the news they've been patiently waiting for; a new album is on the way! His forthcoming album, WHEN THE MUSIC STOPS, set to drop on June 28, aims to reach fans too young to have experienced pop punk's initial explosion in the 2000s. To celebrate the announcement, the alternative star has released the album's lead single, "WHAT THE HELL," an uptempo banger fueled with driving instrumentals and soaring vocals about secrecy and heartache.

"WHAT THE HELL" starts with a rich blend of pop-infused percussion patterns, floaty vocal lines, and catchy guitar riffs supported by deep, grooving bass lines. Over the vibrant production, jxdn admits to his lover, "I know you found the receipts from last night / I know you felt the feeling I can't fight / I know you saw that secret I can't hide." He continues to paint his situation, which has become rife with mistrust and disappointment. This all boils to a head in the explosive chorus where jxdn's soaring vocals beg to know what he did to make his love mad. He asks them, "Baby, what did I do? It's not like that / I'm only being myself, and it's just letting you down / What the hell did I do now?"

The accompanying music video, directed by Hunter Moreno, is a stunning cinematic visual that follows jxdn in nature as he processes his predicament. Drenched in golden hour light and surrounded by his bandmates, he delivers an impassioned performance as he wrestles with his feelings and tries to find a solution.

WHEN THE MUSIC STOPS marks jxdn's long-awaited follow-up to his celebrated debut album Tell Me About Tomorrow. "What do I hear when the music stops? I heard silence like I had never heard before," he shares about his forthcoming album. "I heard an emptiness that overtook me. I missed the music of my life, I missed the safety it gave me. I had lost my love for the feeling. I went to hell and back since my last album. I questioned myself, I questioned my music, and I questioned life and its purpose. And through all that, I heard faint sounds ever so often that resembled a beautiful melody. They guided me through the silence back to the place I call home - the music. Keep listening, Keep holding on to tomorrow. Especially when you don't hear anything anymore. Especially when the music stops. This one's for you. This one's for us."

Watch the "WHAT THE HELL" video below: