Pop punk's most lovable liability, Ray Hawthorne, returns today with another brand new track, "When It Rains", taken off his forthcoming new record, "Ray Hawthorne Can't Be Trusted", set for release on October 15. Candid vulnerability, relatable angst, and a strong dislike for your hometown all in one track. Pre-save the upcoming record, "Ray Hawthorne Can't Be Trusted".
Fresh off the placement of "Habits (ft. Pouyan Afkary of Scary Kids Scaring Kids)" at Halloween Horror Nights: Los Angeles, Ray Hawthorne leans into the buzz to deliver a fun, pop-punk deep cut. Miming the ache of small-town stagnation and self-doubt, "When It Rains" captures the suffocating pull of a hometown you can't quite leave behind.
Where "Ray Hawthorne Sucks" was earnest and "Ray Hawthorne Isn't Real" was chaotic, "Ray Hawthorne Can't Be Trusted" continues a catalog that treats humor, self-awareness, and self-destruction as adjacent concepts. As a whole, Ray Hawthorne leans into emotional whiplash and damage control on his earlier records, while "Ray Hawthorne Can't Be Trusted" (produced by Pete Zen) is aimed at the part of the cycle where the damage has already become too familiar.
Setting sail on the emo seas with "When It Rains", Ray Hawthorne shares:
"To be read in a pirate voice:
Arrrrggg matey. How’s goes life for you land lubbers? Everybody thinks they be a pirate because they went to Disneyland once. Posers yee be. And yee know posers be walking the plank on this ship. Alas, this shanty has me favorite line on the record, “When it rains in New Jersey it bathes me, it burns me, it breaks me, it cures me.” The crew and me be singing it until the wee hours. Shiver me timbers and such. It’s like the drinking songs of old but also if the drinking songs of old were inherently emo. Emo pirates we be. Yo ho yo ho a crying life for me."
Renowned for his work in North Kingsley, the acclaimed project alongside Shavo Odadjianof 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 previous 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 Hawthorneis proudly one of the most unapologetically honest voices modern pop-punk.
Be sure to stay tuned for more Ray Hawthorne news coming very soon.
