Every now and again, people tell you about the next big thing…

…and you nod politely and agree out loud whilst you disagree internally. You’re probably not wrong, just ask the producers of the Divergentfilms. Sometimes you just can’t believe the hype. But read carefully this next sentence and take it to heart. Chase Fouraker is the next big thing. That’s not an opinion, it’s an objective fact. His debut EP drops tomorrow and damn it all if it isn’t a frustratingly, agonizingly, envy-inducing, delicious, and delectable pop-beginning. We have notes from our first listen, as well as the exclusive debut of “California”, just for you.

It begins with “Dangerous .” Fast, clean and funky guitar riffs trill through. They are quickly joined by a rhythm section that kicks the sound up to eleven. All the while, a voice that sounds like it was genetically engineered by scientists to generate perfect pop-tones sings lyrics that immediately lodge in the ear like a well placed throwing star. It’s a perfect pop song, with the DNA of Bruno Mars‘ production, Ed Sheeran‘s hooks, and John Mayer‘s soul all recombinated into something at once familiar and new.

“California” hits synth pulses in the intro. The vocals this time are smooth, seductive, full of teenage longing, but with just enough grown-up sophistication to make you believe this is the real deal. Fouraker here seems to be playing modern R&B rhythms over a pop punk sound sensibility, maybe even with hints of Supertramp thrown in. The meat of the music appears to come from all places at once, like if someone drew a Venn diagram of good sound and picked out all the bits in the middle. We have the exclusive first listen right here:

Electric drums over a guitar loop set the beat in “Happy For You.” Fouraker’s nigh on perfect voice shines indelibly to the last note. His lyrics land like they’re your own thoughts being remembered off-hand. It’s hard to escape the feeling that you’ve heard him before, except you know deep down that you’ve never heard anything that sounds quite like this.

“Better Me” brings it down a notch, favors a piano refrain, and a little deliberate echo. The instrumentation feels like a ’90s power ballad, but his voice is a mid-2000s power ballad, and the lyrics feel like an up-to-date, modern power ballad. He blends contemporary musical time periods and aesthetics even as he makes them feel natural, condensed, and fresh.

Coming in the penultimate spot is “Delirious.” And it will make you feel just that. He hits a running meter that make you lean forward in your seat, right before flaunting sweet chorus notes that will make you fall back on to the bed in ecstasy. Fouraker tells a story of turmoil in a relationship that leaves you believing with all your soul that this boy was destined to be a heartthrob pop sensation. Don’t be surprised if before too long you hear this name uttered in the same sentences as the likes of Harry Styles and Shawn Mendes. Here is the video, dropped earlier this year.

We finish with “Sometimes.” Which feels like the most honest song on the EP. Tender piano and vocalizations confess a love that conversation can’t. Fouraker pours everything in here, and it shows. You really don’t need anything more than that. If you’re not sold at this point in the EP, there is no hope for you.

“I poured my heart, soul, thoughts, and mind into this project… There is a little bit of everything on this EP. So many different flavors… I hope everyone digs it and believes in it the way I do.”

One overwhelming thought comes to mind when you have finished processing this Olympian offering: “It’s all there.” It feels like within these six songs are contained the multitudes, the abstract concepts, and hidden secrets of modern pop-music that most artists can elude to, and yet master but a few. In one fell swoop, Chase Fouraker picks them all up and turns them in to a series of tunes that capture them mind body and soul; heart, lung, and spleen; kidney, liver and appendix… And he does it like it’s nothing. This is his debut. That’s impossible. Yet here it is. Once again, read carefully this next sentence and take it to heart. Chase Fouraker is the next big thing.

Follow Chase Fouraker’s Full EP Drop Tomorrow

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Thomas Burns Scully is a Popdust contributor, and also an award-winning actor, playwright, and musician. In his spare time he writes and designs escape rooms. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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