j dylan paul’s new single “sisyphean,” released on October 17, 2025, is a haunting and deeply introspective work that captures the restless beauty of human struggle. Seven years in the making, this alternative rock and indie fusion carries the weight of time and transformation. It has journeyed from a half-forgotten SoundCloud demo to a powerful, emotionally charged single that mirrors the myth it draws from.
Like its namesake, “sisyphean” is about endurance, futility, and the quiet grace found in persistence. Born out of a late-night jam in Boston with Berklee graduate Leshawn Harris, the song evolved through years of creative dormancy and rediscovery until paul, struck by the existential epiphany of Camus’ “One must imagine Sisyphus happy,” found its final voice.
The track opens with a low, enveloping drone, like the hum of isolation, before paul’s deep, somber vocals enter, half-resigned and half-reaching. He sings in a numb and intimate tone, a weary observer of his own exhaustion. “Fourteen years I’ve been here / under this heavy boulder as it numbs me,” he murmurs the sound of an everlasting despair. Then, the drums break through like a heartbeat kicking against stillness, and paul’s voice begins to soar with fierce emotion. The beats drop heavy and deliberate, while distorted guitars grind beneath the surface, building tension like waves crashing against stone.
Midway through, the track erupts into a storm of noise and catharsis, as the distortion thickens, the vocals stretch with need, and the whole soundscape comes vast, almost cinematic. It’s equal parts Radiohead melancholy and Bon Iver introspection, yet unmistakably its own. By the end, the distortion fades back into the void, leaving a space of fragile calm, as if the struggle must begin again. “sisyphean” is a painful, profound, and strangely transcendent reckoning.
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Review by: Naomi Joan