Noah Gundersen wrote a song about medication, anxiety, and the slow grind of modern adulthood, then wrapped it in the kind of jangly guitar that gets you to sing along before you've had a chance to process it. "Die Young" is the latest single from Noah's forthcoming album Rites of Spring, and the early singles are right in line with the connective catalog he's built through other such vulnerable material over the years.

Produced by Andy Park (Medium Build, Cataldo), "Die Young" finds him at his most plainspoken—a reliance on pills and priests to somehow keep it all together, with a chorus that packs a visceral punch: "If this is growing up, I'd rather just die young / but it's already too late."Yet if that sounds like a downer, just press play and let its '90s alt-rock groove bring you in.

Lyrics to "Die Young":

It's hard living in the 21st century
Everything comes with a price
It's hard living in the age of anxiety
So I got some pills prescribed
I know that it's part of the problem
But there's only so much I can take
I guess, if I'm totally honest
Sometimes I think I made a mistake

If this is growing up,
I'd rather just die young
But it's already too late
I hope this medication doesn't fuck with my head
I've got some money that I'm trying to make

It's hard living with the devil inside of you
So you got a priest on the line
He said try living without all that's killing you
You said I'm doing just fine
I know that it's part of the problem
but it's really just not a good time
I guess if I'm totally honest
I'm just dying to feel alive

If this is growing up,
I'd rather just die young
But it's already too late
I hope this medication doesn't fuck with my head
I've got some money that I'm trying to make

I know something's wrong
but I don't know why
So I just keep pushing the engine
I hope that it's not a matter of time
Because I'll be goddamned
if this is Growing up, I'd rather just die young
But it's already too late
If this is growing up, I'd rather just die young
But it's already too late
I hope this medication doesn't fuck with my head
I've got some money that I'm trying to make

VISIT: Noah Gundersen