Basking in the well-deserving limelight of his debut and sophomore albums—Actual Life and Actual Life 2—Fred again.. decided to enrapture fans both old and new with the surprise release of his forthcoming junior LP’s second offering, “Bleu (better with time).” His latest Actual Life 3 preview—which was actually co-written with Drake—trails closely behind his Boiler Room-set-turned-album single “Danielle (smile on my face),” which was co-produced alongside Four Tet and sampled vocals from 070 Shake‘s 2020 single, “Nice To Have.”

With barely a year under his belt as a solo act, Fred again.. has already established an undeniably dedicated following and it’s no surprise as to why he’s effortlessly cemented himself as one of Dancing Astronaut’s most gripping names in our class of Artists To Watch in 2022. For devoted listeners that have been with Gibson since the very beginning, “Bleu (better with time) ” is an instantaneous callback to the evocative—and at times melancholic—experience that he shared with listeners in Actual Life 1, a body of work that was by and large an in-real-time expression of him processing grief. Through his typical syncopated vocals, airy synth work, and a famed sample of “I want you to see my Fred, I’m here!,” his latest album single represents a sense of melodic healing in which listeners have been blessed to have been along for the ride.

Posting Lois Tonkin’s famed illustration “Growing Around Grief” on his Instagram, Gibson shares that “Bleu”—as well as his upcoming album as a whole—is centered around the acceptance that this palpable grief doesn’t shrink or lessen, rather that grief will always stay the same size, but slowly life begins to grow bigger around it.

Stream “Bleu (better in time)” below and stay tuned for more pre-album singles ahead of Actual Life 3‘s nearing release this October 28 via Atlantic Records.

Featured image: Courtesy of press

Tags: actual life, actual life 3, Atlantic Records, Fred again..

Categories: Music