Saratoga Springs, New York-based artist Noah XO struts a hooky, candid alt-pop flair on new track “BURNOUT,” pairing glossy, late-night melodic appeal with a heavy emotional undercurrent. Sleek guitars, pulsing rhythms, and hazy textures frame a vocal performance that appeals in its raw emotion, channeling exhaustion, anxiety, and quiet collapse beneath surface-level strength. Rooted in personal experience and modern pressures, the track captures the blurred space between ambition and depletion — balancing pop immediacy with an unflinching portrayal of mental strain and vulnerability.
Lush, jangling guitars and dreamy wordless vocals intertwine initially, then quickly bolstered by a peppy rhythmic pulse and ensuing lead vocal push. “I hate when I wake up, my bad dreams take up most of my reality,” Noah XO’s vocals lament, commanding throughout with a sincere, emotive pull. A heart-on-sleeve admission pairs with fuzzy guitar tones and pulsing rhythms, as the vocals let out: “They say you’re strong then just move on, until they see me breaking down with the lights still on.” The track progresses with a visceral look on the impact of personal pain — resorting to doom-scrolling, heady contemplation, and the temptation of popping “another pill into my mouth” to face the pain. Melodic immediacy pairs with genuine heart on the excellent “BURNOUT.”
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We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
