Carly Rae Jepsen kicks off her “Western Wind” era with a lush new single

Pop powerhouse Carly Rae Jepsen has returned with a new single, titled “Western Wind.” She’s teased the song over the last month with billboards, hidden treasure maps, and a text hotline. After performing the song at Coachella in April, the single and its accompanying video has finally arrived.

With the new single, the Canadian pens an ode to California, in all its beauty and lushness. In the previously released Dedicated Side B closer “Now I Don’t Hate California After All,” Jepsen professed her love for the West Coast state, closing a complicated chapter for the singer (as heard in “LA Hallucinations” and “Right Words, Wrong Time”).

“Western Wind” blows in like the fresh breeze of spring, filled with new promise and bliss. It’s a down-tempo, effortless offering that reminiscences on past loves and the feeling of finding home in someone else. The soft around the edges music video from Taylor Fauntleroy feels like something plucked from a Wes Anderson film.

In it she sings, “Coming in like a western wind / Do you feel home from all directions / First bloom, you know it’s spring / Reminding me love that it’s all connected.” The song contains all the romanticism Jepsen is known for, while dialing back the disco and high energy pop elements she’s leaned into over the last few years. It feels light and thoughtfully effused with tenderness.

The track is produced by Rostam Batmanglij, who previously worked with Jepsen on the Emotion offering “Warm Blood.” Since the release of the full-length album Dedicated in 2019, Jepsen’s has shared Dedicated Side B as well as a slew of single, including “Let’s Be Friends” and the holiday bop “It’s Not Christmas Till Somebody Cries.”

It’s too soon to say if a full album’s on the way, but “Western Wind” feels like the ushering of a new era.