Lightning rarely strikes the same place twice, especially in the music industry. There are exceptions, though, and Sean Van Vleet is one of them. He formed Blame My Youth in 2020—a move that was solidified when the band’s first single “Right Where You Belong” was selected as the closing credits theme on the GRAMMY-nominated soundtrack of Bill & Ted Face the Music. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, follow-up single “Fantas9c” picked up millions of streams and found success on the Rock radio charts.

While touring throughout the US and UK, suppor9ng ar9sts like HARDY, The Offspring, 311, and AWOLNATION, the band saw their next single “Prizefighter” rise at US Alterna9ve radio. It’s an incredible start that demonstrates just how well Van Vleet’s songs connect with people. That all came after a prolonged period when, following the demise of his previous band Empires, Van Vleet was writing a lot for other artists (All Time Low, Oliver Tree, PVRIS)—as well as over 200 songs in TV shows, high profile ad campaigns and video games—but rarely for himself. That changed when he began working closely with Billboard Top 100 Producer of 2023 (and Big Loud Rock co-founder) Joey Moi. Whereas before their working rela9onship was divided strictly between songwriter (Van Vleet) and producer (Moi), in the studio one day the pair inadvertently began writing together and realized how much they loved the process.

The result was “The Break”—the first of a number of songs Van Vleet and Moi have written together. Though infec9ous and upbeat, it’s also much more vulnerable and heart-torn than anything he’s ever made before, and signifies the start of what Van Vleet considers a brand new chapter for Blame My Youth. What’s more, it’s only going to get beber and bigger from here.