• News

• All

Jul 22, 2021 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Emma Kate Rothenberg-Ware

Indie folk artist Izzy Heltai is returning this week with his new EP, Day Plan (5 Songs Written 4 The End of The World). The new EP closely follows his 2020 debut album, Father, which saw Izzy explore his experience as a trans man through emotionally raw lyricism and richly constructed instrumental arrangements. Izzy has already shared four of the titular five songs, but is now returning with the EP’s last unheard track, “Met on the Internet,” premiering early with Under the Radar.

“Met on the Internet” reflects on Izzy’s early days dating as a trans teen, along with all of the emotional baggage and toxic behavior that came along with those early attempts at connection. Or as he puts it in the song’s closing lines, “When it’s the early 2010’s/And you’re just a lonely kid you kind of suck.” Izzy brings both a level of intimate honesty and rare charisma to the track, punctuating his stories of awkward teenage encounters with sweet sun-soaked melodies and unbridled emotion. The accompanying video also hits on a certain feeling of childhood nostalgia, tracking Izzy exploring winding suburban streets on his scooter.

Izzy explains of the song, “Being a trans-masc person, it’s easy to submit to the pressures of toxic masculinity, because society is telling us we will never be ‘man enough.’ As a trans teenage boy, I internalized a lot of unfortunate qualities considered masculine—emotional aloofness, entitlement, a general lack of communication skills—overcompensating for my lack of inherent ‘man-ness’—being born a girl and all. But it’s important for me to acknowledge my privilege within my marginalization. Even though I am part of an oppressed population, I still have the capacity to behave in problematic ways. So, to put it in fewer words: this song is my apology to anyone I tried to date in High School.”

Check out the track below and watch for Day Plan (5 Songs Written 4 The End of The World), out July 23rd.