Bartees Strange vaporizes genre lines with his exhilarating new single "Boomer"

Oklahoma-born artist Bartees Strange made waves earlier this year with Say Goodbye To Pretty Boy, an EP of The National covers that celebrated the beloved rock outfit while also demonstrating Strange’s sonic alchemy, a compelling fusion of emo, rap, hardcore, and country rock. Strange rounded out the EP with a pair of original songs, serving to set the stage for Live Forever, his debut LP. It comes out on October 2, and today the rocker dropped a video for “Boomer,” its latest single.

Dynamic and lyrically rich, the genre-defying track seamlessly melds elements of hip-hop, blues rock, and indie bombast, building to a roaring chorus that’s bound to give goosebumps. Check out the video for “Boomer,” directed by Britain Weyant, below.

“I try to show how everything is connected: rap, country, hardcore, post-rock,” Strange said of Live Forever in a Billboard interview from earlier this year. “To me and a lot of people of color who grew up making things, those genres are blurry. The lines don’t really make sense to me.”

You’ll be able to hear it for yourself this fall. Pre-order Live Forever here.