By TOP8SCENE | Photo: Toby Shapiro | Feb 27, 2026
New Music Alert: Ray Hawthorne's "Somewhere Else"
If you’ve been spinning Degrassi-enthusiast pop-punker Ray Hawthorne, you know chaos isn’t new. What is new on “Somewhere Else” is how quiet it feels underneath it. The track drifts with a repeated confession, “When you say that you love me, I’m somewhere else.” It's emotional, mature, but pop punk to the core. It swings between wanting to resist and the feeling of regret taking over.
This release isn’t your typical pop-punk spiral. It’s less explosive, mellow, but still has moments where it hits you in the chest. It’s almost as if Ray is disassociating, it plays on the topic of being right there with someone who you know really cares about you, but you’re just mentally checked out, numb. The track is like pulling off a mask to reveal the truth that has been hiding deep down. It’s heavy. It’s shame, emotional absence, and self-awareness.
Under Ray’s sarcasm and energy, there’s a clear fear of being defined by the worst versions of himself. “And I wish that the past was the past and my heart wasn’t trash, is that all I am?”
From Ray Hawthorne Sucks to Ray Hawthorne Isn’t Real, it almost feels like he’s been slowly dissolving his own identity. This new release feels very self-aware and honest, it’s less about chaos and more about accountability.
TOP8’s take?
This track is something that immediately hit us in the feels, it’s real and in our opinion, an elevated version of Ray Hawthorne. Meaning aside, the track is sonically pleasing, starting off mellow, emotional, soft and hits into that classic pop punk energy we all know and love. It’s melodically catchy, relatable and you’ll definitely be seeing it on our TOP8.