SIMPLETON, the third album from multi-platinum indie-rock singer/songwriter YOT CLUB, dismantles the utopian view of the American suburbs, treating finely manicured life as a mirage. Across its 13 tracks, the LP wrestles with how curated feeds and predictable routines can blur, and even erase, empathy and responsibility, creating a world where difficult questions and harsh realities are easy to ignore.

In 2019, Ryan Kaiser started Yot Club in his college dorm, crafting a lo-fi, classically cool indie rock sound grounded under a dreamlike haze. Two years later, his breakthrough single “YKWIM?” quickly reached viral status on TikTok (today, it’s been streamed more than 1 billion times) and has since taken him around the world at festivals like Treefort, Kilby Block Party and Pitchfork Paris. But even as his personal geography has shifted – to Nashville, New York, Philadelphia and now LA – the suburban logic he grew up with continues to color his writing. At one point in Kaiser’s life, his surroundings were just scenery; now, as his understanding of the world and his place in it have grown, they read differently – a learned sense of perspective that marks his songs.

“When I first started, I was posting music into the void with no expectations that anyone would hear it,” he says. “I feel more ready now to write about something nuanced, whereas a few years ago I’d probably just say, ‘I’ll write about my dog.’ I’ve realized it all has to mean something – otherwise, what’s the point?”