Pop punk's most lovable liability, Ray Hawthorne, has today unveiled new single, "Habits" ft. Pouyan Afkary of Scary Kids Scaring Kids, a collaboration that draws from different corners of the heavier alt spectrum. At the center of "Habits" is a pop punk anthem that keeps moving, but only in circles, with every turn bringing Ray Hawthorne back to the same shame, the same patterns, and ultimately, the same unresolved ending. Watch the new video for "Habits", below.
Bringing one of the record's sharpest tracks into focus, "Habits" pairs Ray Hawthorne's instinct for self-sabotage with Pouyan Afkary's harder edge for a wider scope of the song's central spiral. Refusing to resolve, "Habits" traps Ray Hawthorne in a loop, circling the damage to the point where it starts sounding like his identity.
Pouyan Afkary is a founding member of one of the most influential bands to come out of the mid-2000's post-hardcore wave, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, bringing keyboards, atmosphere, and a distinct sense of tension that helped shape a cornerstone of the band's DNA. On Ray Hawthorne's "Habits", Pouyan Afkary carries that legacy into a different corner of the genre, connecting Ray Hawthorne's pop-punk spiral to a voice that helped define an entire era of heavy, emotionally charged alt music.
Renowned for his work in North Kingsley, the acclaimed project alongside Shavo Odadjian of System of a Down, Hawthorne initially captured hearts as the Heartbreak Hero with his inaugural solo release "Heartbreak Feels Good in a Place Like This". Building on his solo work, his debut record "Ray Hawthorne Sucks" further cemented his status as a bold new voice in pop punk, quickly amassing a devoted following and over 20 million streams across all streaming platforms for his magnetic charm and razor-sharp wit.
Blending heartbreak, sarcasm, and just the right amount of emotional stability, Ray Hawthorne leads with a messy kind of hope, turning emotional freefall into something you can scream along to. Where debut album and his firstborn, "Ray Hawthorne Sucks", leaned into an earnest DIY vulnerability, his latest record, "Ray Hawthorne Isn't Real", took a turn and tapped into the restless defiance of a secondborn. The 15 tracks helped embrace the chaos, laugh at the pain, and maybe, just maybe, allow us all to find a little redemption along the way.
Starting from the very real possibility that Ray Hawthorne is just a guy screaming into the ether (and somehow making it sound catchy), his catalog has become a refuge for anyone who's ever felt too loud, too sensitive, or too much. Loud, petty, and deeply cathartic, Ray Hawthorne is proudly one of the most unapologetically honest voices modern pop-punk.
Be sure to stay tuned for more Ray Hawthorne news coming very soon.
