Last December marked a decade since Patrick J. Smith shared his debut EP as A Beacon School, at the time churning out a more slacker-rock-shaded take on the dream-pop formula he still deals in today. With only one LP to his name since then, the announcement of his follow up full-length yoyo was immediately an exciting prospect as the NYC-based songwriter’s sound continues to evolve to accommodate chillwave textures—and even ambient house music on the sprawling seven-minute pre-album cut “Jon.”
Yet his latest single from the new release hews closer to the wispy atmospherics of Air and the jangly, light-shoegaze tones of The Radio Dept., only with that latter band’s melancholy vocals swapped for something notably upbeat. “‘Alone’ is about the moment when you feel like your luck is finally turning,” Smith shares of the new track. “Nothing’s been going your way, so when you catch the faintest glimmer of hope you grab on to it as tight as you can.”
The track arrives with an aptly hypnagogic lyric video, which you can find below. After yoyo drops October 13 via Grind Select you can catch the band playing their release show in NYC at Elsewhere on October 26 with labelmates S.C.A.B.—find tickets here.
