Hanh Truong on September 16th, 2020

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Singer-songwriter Nick Samson made his way to Los Angeles last year, brushing off the last bit of Ohio air from his shoulders. But months before he landed in California, Samson wrote “Blame” and it will finally arrive Friday, along with a colorfully trippy music video.

Formerly the drummer for the dance-pop outfit Captain Kidd, Samson ventured into a solo synth-pop project as La Poré in 2017. Since then, he has released five singles, including “Sad Girl” and “Missing It,” which was featured in “The Perfect Date,” a Netflix production with actor Noah Centineo, and appeared on French label Kitsuné’s 2018 compilation “Kitsuné America 5, the NBA Edition.”

The artist reunited with his old bandmate, Kyle Kanzigg, to co-write and produce the new song. Revisiting a theme that Samson has sung about before, “Blame” is about vulnerability and dealing with the repercussions of hard decisions.

More specifically, the track is about Samson moving to California with his wife. “I knew that this would be a huge change in our lives,” says the Cleveland native, who joined Captain Kidd when he was at Ohio State in Columbus. “All we had ever known was Ohio. I was going to chase my dreams, but I was also faced with the fact that I was not only responsible for myself but also the well-being of my wife. Thus, the song is about fear of resentment in a relationship. If things go wrong, ‘You can blame it on me.'”

The lyrics were also inspired by Samson’s performance as Romeo in the Actors’ Theatre of Columbus production of “Romeo and Juliet.”

Reminiscent of Foster the People, La Poré’s song is an atmospheric bop with Samson’s affecting vocals over sleek, ’80s-style synths. And its accompanying video, directed by Logan Floyd, shows just that. The purple-blue hued, psychedelic visuals feature Samson wandering and driving through the hills of L.A. The video will officially debut on La Poré’s IGTV on Friday.

||| Stream: “Blame”

||| Also: Stream 2019’s “Cheap Red Wine”