“A summer song for winter” - Altara drops his dynamic second single, ‘It’s Hitting You, Isn’t it’
Altara, the Irish-born new kid on the indie-alt scene, is gracing streaming platforms with his newest single, It’s Hitting You, Isn’t It, released on October 2nd.
The song, along with the Altara’s first single, Somebody To Lose, are shaping up to be promising teasers for the upcoming release of his debut EP. If you haven’t already, you can listen to the track below:
It’s Hitting You, Isn’t It is a labor of love that began as a voice memo Altara recorded on his phone in an airport bathroom: it’s a catchy, multi-dimensional evolution of sound and lyric in real time.
At the beginning on the track, Altara sings: “I could stay here all night with you, till morning / Breathe it in let the moment take over”, speaking to the pull of attraction - that instant connection that’s so enticing. It feels good to be wrapped up in someone, to get to know everything about them, to feel a comfort and acceptance that is at once familiar and excitingly new.
Before the chorus sweeps up the listener in warm, almost lo-fi-esque beats, Altara says of his love interest: “Your gravity / Not seen before / It’s lethal”. He’s completely swept up in this person and willingly caught in their orbit. We’ve all heard the expression “you’ll be the death of me”, but Altara’s use of the word ‘lethal’ is a surprising addition to the lyrics and puts the expression in a new light.
How many times has an attraction been so all consuming that it, in a sense, kills off the rest of our interests and upends our normal routines? We’ve all been there - and even if we haven’t (yet!), we can certainly understand Altara’s description of the feeling.
The chorus emphasizes the rush of not only giving but also receiving that romantic attention from someone we find oh-so attractive, “There’s too many night’s I’ve lost with you on mind / [...] / Got an energy but I can’t define it / I don’t wanna hide it / A feeling, I can’t deny it”. It’s that thing when the person is all we can think about, we can’t wait to see them again; we miss them even though we’ve only just parted from them after the most incredible 5 hour date. It’s too soon to call it love, it might not even get to love, but maybe it’s too deep to call it lust, so what is it? Altara sums it up perfectly: “a feeling”. If you know, you know.
In the second verse, Altara sings in Spanish before reverting back to English with the line: “But don’t get attached / Won’t be the last / Still we can have it one night”. Sometimes, a great, all-encompassing love is just that: one night. A romance like that can catch you off guard, sweep you off your feet and leave you thinking about it long after it’s over.
From there, a vivid brass section brings a fun, hip-swiveling turn to this vulnerable, ultra-relatable anthem about losing yourself in emotion. The chorus picks up again and then the song takes a turn. It’s a different vibe that carries us home - a little electronic, a little futuristic. The lyrics, “It was only one night / Too soon / What a beautiful sight / In ruins / Got caught up in the lights” bring us back to reality. The connection, as beautifully intense as it was, was a flash in the pan: all encompassing, over before it even began.
Sharing more behind the track, Altara explained:
“I started writing at the airport for some reason, I just had the idea & sang it into my phone like a crazy person… I went through a lot of different emotional stages. I think that’s why it changes so much. It started as an idea to do a love letter, then I wanted to sing in Spanish, then I wanted to have a ‘drop’ section.
Like a painting, you never really know how it’s going to look when you start, but I’m so proud of how it turned out now that I can take a step back. I’m really looking forward to hearing what people think of it.”
In a recent Instagram post, the singer called his latest single “a summer song for winter”, and it really does carry that sound. It’s Hitting You, Isn’t It transports listeners to languid Mediterranean beaches just as the weather in countries north of the equator is shifting into autumn.
As we pull heavy coats from the back of our closets, Altara’s latest is a vibe-worthy reminder that there is no particular season for catching feels.
Capturing the warmth & uncertainty of losing your head, It’s Hitting You, Isn’t It will whisk listeners away, for a balmy, sunkissed interval. Having spent the last few years evolving his genre-bending sound that’s proudly hard to box, Altara’s married the catchiness of alt-pop and the intensity of electronica, creating a sound that's entirely his own and destined to be kept on repeat.
You can listen to both of his singles on Spotify, and make sure to follow Altara on Instagram to be the first to know of his upcoming releases.