Thomas Cole has a knack for making the ordinary feel like a discovery, and “Stubble” is his latest proof of that. Out July 17, the track takes something most guys shave off without a second thought and turns it into the whole point of the song.

The chorus is the kind that gets under your skin fast. You will catch yourself humming it before you have even learned the words, which is usually the sign of a pop song doing its job right. But there is more going on here than a catchy hook. Underneath the bar scene flirting is a message about confidence that has nothing to do with looking polished and everything to do with looking like yourself.

Cole put it best himself. “Everyone has a story they survived,” he says. “The stubble is simply the evidence.” That single line reframes the whole track. It is not really about facial hair at all. It is about the things people usually try to smooth over, and choosing to leave them exactly where they are.

Produced by Electropoint, “Stubble” sits comfortably in the electro pop and dance lane Cole has made his own, with a hint of country twang threaded underneath and a bass line in the chorus that lands harder than the bouncy surface suggests. It is catchy the way the best pop songs are, sneaking onto your playlist and staying there without asking for permission.

A music video drops alongside the single, matching the song’s playful energy scene for scene. “Stubble” is not out yet, but it is already the kind of song that makes you want to circle the date.

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