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EP TITLED 5 STAGES OF GRIEF COMING THIS YEAR
April 4, 2025 – Los Angeles, CA – Alt-pop artist Braden Balesreleases his latest single, “SUBTITLE”, via Capitol Records, marking his first release since wrapping his inaugural sold-out North American headline tour. The latest single builds upon his candid lyricism and authentic storytelling with this emotionally-driven track further solidifying his reputation as a voice for Gen Z’s emotionally candid generation.
Listen to “SUBTITLE” HERE.
“SUBTITLE” grapples with the reflective tone of revisiting past relationships, navigating memories that linger long after goodbyes. Balancing vulnerability and clarity, Bales crafts an engaging track driven by understated melodies and lyrics rich with genuine sentiment. Moody guitar lines and minimalist beats underscore Bales’ candid vocals, balancing haunting restraint with explosive choruses that mirror the tension between holding on and letting go.
The track builds on his knack for transforming personal anguish—explored in prior hits like “I DON’T (BUT I DO)” and “Chronically Cautious”—into anthems that resonate with his rapidly growing fanbase. Braden Bales has just came off his North American headline tour which hit major cities such as New York, Chicago and ended in Los Angeles. Now with “SUBTITLE”, the single refines Bales’ signature sound – melding alt-pop urgency with bedroom-pop intimacy—while hinting at a bolder, more polished direction for his upcoming 2025 releases.
With a style defined by self-reflection and unfiltered storytelling, 22-year-old Braden Bales is quickly emerging as one of music’s most compelling new voices.
Photo Credit: Samuel Valdivia
Since the breakout success of his 2023 single “CHRONICALLY CAUTIOUS” ( released via Geffen Records) Bales’ steady rise to prominence has been bolstered by his distinctive balance of ear-catching sounds with emotionally transparent subject matter. Working across guitar-textured strains of pop, rock, and indie, Bales lyrically bares his heart in hooky frameworks that linger in listeners’ minds long after his songs expire. And while most would consider his striking candor a courageous creative choice, for Bales, it’s not so much a choice as it is a requisite for authentic self-expression.
“I’m confessing how I feel in my music, and that’s important for people to know,” he says. “My music is not some cookie cutter expression of something that is intended to be purely commercial.” Even so, early commercial appeal — and success — has followed. “CHRONICALLY CAUTIOUS,” generated over 50,000 TikTok views the evening it landed and has since amassed more than 46 million Spotify streams. Its follow-up single, “ME MYSELF AND YOU,” logged upwards of 2 million streams on the platform — another early testament to his music’s resonance.
Along the way, Bales, who originally signed with Geffen Records but now continues his artistic journey with Capitol Records, dropped two EPs in between tours in 2023. The respective projects, NOMAD, his debut EP, and CATALYST, further solidified his sound. The Oakville, Ontario-born artist, now based in Los Angeles, is at a pivotal point in his burgeoning career that heralds the release of his most cohesive and deeply personal project to date, 5 STAGES OF GRIEF.
The EP signals his increasing shift towards full creative autonomy, with Bales — who holds a degree in audio engineering —credited as a co-producer. Conceptually, the project centers on the five stages of grief, with each song representing a stage. Sonically, it maintains his confessional songwriting style but channels more of a live band feel than his past releases, culminating in a more mature and organic offshoot of his sound.
To Buy or Stream “SUBTITLE”:
https://bradenbales.lnk.to/SUBTITLE
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