Skrillex‘s continuous dominance over the news cycle has captivated the majority of the electronic music world for the last two and a half months. He was releasing songs every week, announcing an album, announcing a gig at Madison Square Garden, selling it out, dropping the album, performing in Times Square, performing at MSG, then dropping another album mid-show. That couldn’t have been avoided.

But we’ve known from the beginning of the year that there’s so much more. Despite the albums we know and anticipate, the wheels keep spinning — cue ODESZA, who shocked fans this morning with the release of “Hopeful,” a single that didn’t make it onto their last album but “encapsulated our time away from the world while making the record.”

The single is reminiscent of many of M83’s early synth-laden classics, with echoed vocals and steadily growing melodies until the entire weight of the sounds smashes down. As the title implies, it is a music that instills in the listener a sense of great optimism and possibilities.

This one never made the album but we always felt it was special and in a way encapsulated our time away from the world while writing the record. Hopeful is out now.https://t.co/Vq1ulPAulz

— ODESZA () February 21, 2023

— ODESZA () February 22, 2023

Photo via Alexander Babarikin