2026 has been a great year to be a Joshua Bassett fan so far. Bassett made his literary debut in May with the release of his tell all memoir Rookie, which earned him a spot on the New York Times bestsellers list. Bassett has continued this exploration into poetry and prose by launching a platform on Substack where he has begun to post snippets of unreleased songs alongside his poetry. With his new single “Clouds,” Bassett is expanding upon the sound present in his earlier projects but with a more mature edge.
While on his press tour for Rookie earlier this year, Bassett mentioned in multiple interviews that he had been taking a more active role in the production of his new songs, and it’s clear on “Clouds” that he served as a driving force. There’s a melancholy in the layering of the piano and guitar, it mimics the softness of Bassett’s vocals. It’s like the melody is being plucked directly from his heart strings, not just the guitar.
Bassett has a knack for intertextuality within his discography, every song can be thematically traced back to another. “Clouds” takes a few of the most prominent images in his discography, reflecting on them from the point of view of an adult Joshua Bassett, not the lovelorn Disney star that many met him as. The song opens with “Spinnin’ out on the 405 / Guess I’m smoking again / On the downside of another high / Got a cavity coming in.” This image shows up early within Bassett’s discography on “Feel Something,” a 2021 track about chasing a high along the interstate in California.
While in “Feel Something” Bassett describes galavanting around Los Angeles in his Honda Civic to feel excitment, “Clouds” takes that same concept and flips it. Rather than view this chasing of excitement as an act of joy, the act of running becomes a form of self defense as Bassett searches for something to believe and have hope in. It’s an extremely candid and raw turn of perspective that echoes the vulnerability he brought forward with his memoir.
Before releasing “Clouds,” Bassett took to his Instagram broadcast channel writing “Y’all remember Joshtober,” referencing a period in October of 2022 when he released a new single every week before telling fans to “Buckle up.” It seems as though there will be more new music from Bassett on the way soon, and by pairing his signature melancholic eye with his matured perspective he is undoubtedly an artist to watch out for.
Keep up with Joshua Bassett: Instagram // Spotify // X // Youtube // TikTok // Website
