It may feel like it’s been years and years since fans heard new music from Years & Years, but now, Olly Alexander is back and ready to get you dancing.
On Thursday (April 8), Years & Years unveiled their first single since announcing that the band would transition into a solo project for Alexander, “Starstruck.”
The grooving song takes the classic Years & Years pop sound and reimagines it with an early-2000s dance-pop flair, a la Daft Punk or Basement Jaxx. All the while, Alexander croons over the thudding bass line about wanting to tell someone how he feels about them, but just getting too nervous.
“Don’t need your cash. I got my own to spend it on ya if I like,” he sings on the song’s chorus. “If you wanna dance baby let’s dance /We can dream until the sun rise/ I can’t help it, I get starstruck around you/ What can I do, baby?”
In a statement released with the new single, Alexander said the song was the byproduct of spending months in quarantine, where all he’s wanted to do is get out and dance. “I’ve been putting all that pent up energy into the music,” he said. “‘Starstruck’ is about the rush you get when you’re with somebody you’re really into, it’s about holding onto a good feeling and not letting it go. Like most of us I’ve spent the past year at home, and I wanted to create something super positive and fun for people (and myself) to bop along too. Whatever we’re doing or wherever we are in life, I think we all deserve three minutes of interstellar ecstasy.”
This is the first release from Years & Years following the band’s announcement last month that founding members Emre Turkmen and Mikey Goldsworthy would be taking a step back from the project, leaving Olly Alexander to continue the project as a solo act.
“This upcoming new album has been an Olly endeavor and we’ve decided that Years & Years will continue as an Olly solo project,” a statement posted to their Twitter read. “These past 12 months have been crazy for us all and we want to thank you for the love and support you’ve given us over the years (& years).”
Check out Years & Years’ “Starstruck” below:
