Now that we’ve established there is no such thing as a guilty pleasure, I can bravely come forward as someone who loves slick, lovesick boy-pop. Much like most other girls from Southern Ontario, I got swept up in the winds of Bieberchella, and have an abiding appreciation for the R&B greats whose vocal agility taught modern pop how to croon and glide. In an era of distorted club music, I light up at a hint of melisma, craning my body towards the speaker like a plant rotating towards the sun. Enter Nate Sib, an artist who pulls equally from both impulses.

The Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist has enjoyed a meteoric come-up, with his debut single “Why can’t you see” gracing the NHL 24 soundtrack before he’d even begun to build out a proper catalogue. His childhood friendship with 2hollis has since become a formidable creative partnership, one that yielded the glowing “afraid,” a glitch-pop marvel that landed on The New York Times’ list of the best songs of 2025. Across two strong EPs, for you and the more potent for us, Sib continued to hone his collision of pop polish and maximalist electronica, before taking that sound to arenas across North America in support of Joji’s Solaris Tour. In remarkably little time, he’s amassed the kind of early résumé that gives each new release a consequential weight.

At its most propulsive, Reborn—his debut album, out now via Republic Records—makes good on that promise. Opener “Face Card” distills Sib’s signature sound, pairing of-the-moment lyrical winks with production that barrels forward and a breathy bridge that recalls Hollis’ seductive delivery. But it’s “Let You Go” that offers the album’s most sterling demonstration of what Sib can do: syrupy and explosive, his falsetto glides over full-throttle synths blown out almost beyond recognition, building toward a release that vanishes as soon as it lands. Fans have noted Sib’s tendency to “edge” his songs, cutting them off just as a drop or turn of phrase threatens to reach its peak. Here, the brevity serves him: “Let You Go” bellows like a hurricane, leaving behind precisely the ache that Sib seems so adept at creating.

The trouble comes when Sib asks more of his songwriting. He makes it clear that Reborn is rooted in his experience surviving a fentanyl overdose at 17, getting sober, and finding a deeper sense of spirituality through his second chance at life. Sib has said that he knew he needed to tell this story through music, but waited until he was older—and had grown as a songwriter—before he felt ready to do it justice. For an album that has so much to say, though, Reborn still feels like it’s hiding a lot behind the curtain. The album takes a turn between the shopworn euphoria of “Shooting Star” and the forthright “All I Needed,” abandoning Sib’s lusty, longing persona for a peek into the darkness at the heart of his past. “All I Needed” draws connections between Sib’s recovery and the person whose love offered refuge, its stripped-back arrangement meekly cushioning the depths of his message: “But I know I had you, born right within / Gave me your love, I don't understand / Why I was so lost, why I was so lost.” For one of the album's first real encounters with Sib’s past, the track seems reluctant to take us further. There are flashes of something deeply meaningful here, but Sib stops short of giving those feelings true dimension.

“It Ain’t Easy” fares better, in part because the frailty of Sib’s delivery feels purposeful. “I ain’t a kid no more,” he erupts in the chorus, “But will you still hold my hand? / Will you take me through that door? / I need you to hold my hand.” These lyrics are not sophisticated, but their juvenility resonates against the turmoil of his youth: to be 22 and rising from the impacts of substance abuse, hollowed and worn. In moments like these, Sib’s simplicity can feel less like a limitation than a stylistic tool, an honest expression of his fatigue in the face of adversity.

The album eventually winds to a stop with “Child of God,” a barren, devotional closer that finds Sib urging its subject—perhaps himself—to keep going. Against a foggy keyboard, he takes the outro for dextrous pleas to remember one’s worth in the eyes of God. Sib has spoken openly about the deeper spirituality he’s found, and there’s no reason to doubt its significance – but much of that substance is left to be interpreted rather than witnessed. For an artist who has built a persuasive sonic niche, Reborn could be more exacting in what it’s trying to say. Sib has clearly ruminated on the depth of his story; he just hasn’t found the words to tell it.

Nate Sib stops in Montreal at Théâtre Fairmount on September 5th – click here for tickets.

Reborn

out now via Republic Records

1. Face Card

2. Let You Go

3. Sexiest

4. Love Love

5. Problem

6. Shooting Star

7. All I Needed

8. It Ain’t Easy

9. Too

10. Child Of God

Written by Nate Sib (Nathan Joseph Subbiondo), Billy Walsh, Jonah Abraham, Ryan Tedder, Jordan Martin, Clyde Crooks, Edward MacFarlane, Edward Gibson, Jack Savidge, Alex Willner, 2hollis (Hollis Frazier-Herndon), Jesse Fink, Jaehyun Kim (KIMJ), Adam Krevlin, Loukeman (Luke Fenton), Andrew Aged

Produced by Nate Sib, Jonah Abraham, ŏlswel, Clyde Crooks, 2hollis, Ryan Tedder, KIMJ, Adam Krevlin, Andrew Aged

Mixed by Tom Norris, Jonah Abraham, and Sean Phelan

Mastered by Dale Becker

Nate Sib

Instagram | Bandcamp | Spotify

Rebecca Judd is the Editorial & Operations Lead of Also Cool Mag. She is currently based in Ottawa.

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