In 2017, Cold Specks released the album Fool’s Paradise. Today, the Toronto musician is finally back with “How It Feels,” her first new material since then.

“’How It Feels’ was written in 2019 at a time when I was struggling with money,” Ladan Hussein, aka Al Spx, said. “I was struggling with my mind as well, and I was reflecting on my experiences. It was written one magical night in the dead of winter in a studio around midnight. It came together quite easily and Chantal [Kreviazuk] is a gem.”

The song follows a bipolar diagnosis that arrived after time in the hospital for her mental health. It was written with Kreviazuk, recorded by Graham Walsh of Holy Fuck, and features piano by Johnny Spence, strings by composer Owen Pallett, and brass by Terry Edwards. Listen below.