Michael Clifford is stepping into the spotlight once again—this time with Waterparks riding shotgun.
The 5 Seconds of Summer guitarist has released “give me a break!”, a sharp-edged, high-energy collaboration with the genre-bending US trio.
The single follows last month’s “cool”, Clifford’s first official solo outing, and both tracks will feature on his debut solo album SIDEQUEST, which lands July 25th via Hopeless Records.
Along with the new single, Clifford has unveiled the full SIDEQUEST tracklist: ten songs total, including unreleased features with American heavy-hitters Porter Robinson and Ryan Hall.
“I’d been really wanting to create something unique with Awsten and Waterparks,” Clifford shared in a statement. “Awsten became my person that I would vent to about different things in life and I think that that’s the kind of the energy that this song has. It’s very authentic to us.”
Waterparks frontman Awsten Knight echoed the sentiment, adding he was “beyond flattered” when Clifford approached him for the collab. “I’ve been a fan of his for so long and hearing he was doing a solo album instantly got my brain spinning,” he said. “Writing with him was fun because we pushed every line to the limit. It’s been really sick to watch him grow this album from the early stages and can’t wait to see how much people love it.”
A music video for the single also premiered today, directed by Luke Orlando and packed with offbeat humour and chaotic anime energy. Inspired by Death Note, the video sees Clifford and Knight acting out fan fiction-style scenarios where Michael meets a variety of cartoonishly dramatic ends at the hands of Awsten, all imagined by a hyper-creative fan.
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“I wanted to make sure that we glorified fan fiction and how beautiful it is that people write these incredible farfetched stories about their favourite artists and publish them for the world to see,” Clifford said of the video. “It’s a celebration of the dedication of the people who love us and how unorthodox their support can be sometimes.”
Best known as the lead guitarist of chart-topping Australian pop-rock juggernaut 5 Seconds of Summer, Michael Clifford is now carving out a solo path on his own terms. With over 18 million albums sold and a string of Billboard No. 1s to his name, Clifford’s debut album SIDEQUEST promises a fresh chapter of self-expression from one of Australia’s most recognisable modern rock voices.
Michael Clifford’s “give me a break! (ft. Waterparks)” is available now via Hopeless Records.
