Do you remember the first time you came to New York City? I only sort of do. I was small, younger than five, and we ate pizza—I think. I remember being impressed, though, even then: by the people, the energy, and the buildings that seemed to touch the sky, like a jigsaw puzzle of man-made giant beanstalks.
Eddie Johnston, the prodigious New Zealand teen who makes lo-fi pop songs as Lontalius, had always dreamed about coming to New York; he told me so when we spoke over Skype for his GEN F profile in 2014. Last fall, that dream came true when he and his bandmates landed in the States to play a few shows, and we were lucky enough to spend some time with them on their inaugural visit.
In the video above, they play a sleepy new song called "Yr Heart Is Beating" on a Red Hook rooftop at dusk. The performance is mixed up with shots of the boys exploring the city, eyes wide and hearts full, drunk on that hard-to-describe feeling that comes a lot less often now that I live here full time. It usually only hits me when I'm walking around midtown and remember to look up.
Watch Lontalius perform "Yr Heart Is Beating" above, and listen to an official stream of the track below. His new album I'll Forget 17, named for a slightly modified Frank Ocean lyric, is out March 25 on Partisan.
Listen to the album version of "Yr Heart Is Beating" below:
