After gathering the hearts and ears of audiences over the last few years — then going on hiatus — The Kid LAROI is musically and emotionally branching farther than he’s ever gone.
His minimalistic new single, “I Can’t Go Back To The Way It Was (Intro),” is paired with an evocatively bare-bones music video, where distorted hues entrap the “WITHOUT YOU” singer in the melancholy that he’s shedding, LAROI is clearly making a statement with this song, which also happens to be the lead single for his upcoming album, The First Time. But, that’s not to say it’s the first single for the album, according to the Australian artist on his Twitter.
It’s rare for an artist to make an intro track represent their album as a leading single, but it’s clear as to why Laroi made this decision, as an EP’s worth of vigor and sadness packs the song’s tight-knit 90 second runtime. It almost reads like a virtuous hymn or poem at first glance, standing as further proof that Laroi’s thematic approach to the genre feels more representative of a pop star that is ten years his senior – and that’s a complement.
I hope the past the hardest that it gets
Momma said she drinkin’ to forget
I told my momma, “Save your son a sip”
Tryna slow my breath and get a grip
I think life is harder than in death
They’re in Heaven, I’m the one that’s left (They left)
The Kid LAROI – “I Can’t Go Back To The Way It Was (Intro)”
On top of the lyrical content, the song’s canorous finale sets the stage for the kind of journey that the Juice Wrld and Miley Cyrus collaborator will be taking fans on next week. Soaring over 36 million monthly listeners on Spotify, Laroi isn’t building an audience anymore; he’s making the music that he wants to make, and at just 19 years old, he’s just getting started.
Listen to the track below!
