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If there is one thing I am coming to understand as a twenty-something, it’s that the people you were once close with are going to fade out of your life, and it’s one of the most challenging realizations to come to terms with. The “sorry I forgot to reply” texts turn into once-a-year “happy birthdays” with the occasional sentence or two about “how lucky you are to have them as a friend” until, suddenly, there’s a silent-yet-mutual acknowledgment that the two of you have drifted away from one another. Sometimes, our individual life circumstances bring us together, and other times, they cause us to grow apart. In Maude Latour’s latest single “Cyclone,” the singer-songwriter disguises the slow burn of a fleeting friend in the form of a perfect pop song.

“Cyclone” feels like reaching the last page of a book that you didn’t want to end, despite knowing that, eventually, it had to. Maude’s songwriting is vulnerable and honest, capturing the feeling of missing someone—and loving that someone—even though you are no longer a part of each other’s lives. Even if you have mastered the art of being alone, it doesn’t always make that person’s absence any easier to cope with. The lyricism of “Cyclone” captures the conundrum of whether or not the act of loving is supposed to be easy, as Maude sings, “Growing pains, push away, Need space, I know you feel the same” and “Miss you like a hurricane, spinning cyclone, Tell you life is so long, Even if I'm dead wrong, Love you 'til I’m all gone.”

I think that “Cyclone” has solidified itself as Maude’s entrance into her Lorde era. It’s one of those songs where the lyrics are sadly relatable, but you still want to sing and dance along to it because it’s just so catchy. In three-and-a-half minutes, indie-pop synthesizers and electronic drums teleport the listener into the world of “Cyclone,” and it is one that is embellished in ironies: it’s joyful yet sad, light yet dark, like smiling as a tear drips down your cheek. In the same sense as Lorde’s “Ribs” or the 1975’s “Somebody Else”, “Cyclone” has a certain kind of charm to it that is warm and nostalgic, like driving through a tunnel at midnight with the windows down.

Simply put, “Cyclone” is a happy-sad bop that feels like the perfect soundtrack to end the summer on.

Listen to "Cyclone" below: