Finneas Delivers an Ode to the Unrequited High School Crush on New Song ‘Cleats’

Finneas revisits the awkward agony of unrequited adolescent love on “Cleats,” the latest effort from his upcoming solo album, For Cryin’ Out Loud .

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The sweet, but bouncy indie pop tune finds Finneas singing about a situationship stuffed with all kinds of signs it’s not going to blossom into anything romantic (chief among them, “She plays for a different team”). And yet, the hope always lingers.

In the “Cleats” music video, directed by Isaac Ravishankara, this high school romantic drama/comedy plays out in the background of a bedroom, while a miniaturized Finneas performs the song and watches the proceedings.After the boy takes his shot with a kiss, the girl quickly grabs her keys and leaves. Heartbreaking as it is, though, the friendship appears to still be in tact, with the two sides playing out the final lyrics of the song: “Nothing you can do either/Old crush on the new teacher/Wave as soon as you see her/From the bleachers.”

For Cryin’ Out Loud is slated to arrive Oct. 4 via Interscope. Finneas announced the album last month and released the title-track , which also featured a music video directed by Ravishankara. For Cryin’ Out Loud marks Finneas’ second full-length solo effort following his 2021 debut, Optimist .

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Along with sharing, “Cleats,” Finneas announced a handful of special album release shows in Los Angeles, London, and New York City. He’ll play the Ford in Los Angeles on Oct. 3, Banquet Records in London on Oct. 6, and Warsaw in Brooklyn on Oct. 12. Ticket information is available on Finneas’ website .

In an interview with Rolling Stone earlier this year, Finneas spoke about making Optimist “alone in a room,” which was somewhat satisfying, but also “really lonely.” He continued: “I didn’t feel like, ‘This is the best possible way it could sound, I’m so glad I made it alone.’ I thought I did an OK job. So on this album [ For Cryin’ Out Loud ], I’ve made a point to be hyper-collaborative. Fortunately, most of my friends are producers.”

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