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Photo: cloudy thoughts 

An etheric cry for mercy, Gus Dapperton enlists long-time collaborator BENEE for his dancey single “Don’t Let Me Down,” marking a new era for the alt-pop connoisseur. 

Both danceable and dreary, it makes sense that the artists reunite for “Don’t Let Me Down,” each offering the only polarizing chemicals that could make this song react into life. It’s a track that could fool you with romance’s disguise, with an insidious melancholy that’s both tragic and powerful. The singers are trying to save themselves from a love that’s broken them, struggling to say no because of how many times they’ve said yes.

An artist in every sense of the word, Dapperton also directed the single’s accompanying video, which is a theater production at its highest caliber. Alongside period-accurate costuming and choreography that tells a story of emotional fatigue, BENEE and Dapperton are very clearly having fun while bringing their art to life, only furthering the play with a surprise performance during weekend one of Coachella.

“Don’t Let Me Down” arrives with a highly anticipated album announcement, as his latest project HENGE lands July 7. It’s already proving to be a summer soundtrack, with its title referencing “Manhattanhenge,” a crowd-drawing phenomenon in New York City where the sunset aligns perfectly with the east-west streets of Manhattan. It lends to the child-like euphoria that colors the simple things humans let themselves be enamored by, which is very fitting for Dapperton’s tone for this next era. He’s coming back home to a familiar part of himself, and we’re lucky enough to be joined on the ride.

Watch the "Don't Let Me Down" video below: