Following the dirty, sleazy chaos of “All We Do Is Party!,” July Talk’s Danny Miles pivots into anthemic garage pop with his newest single, “Reckless Kids.” Uplifting, rebellious, and nostalgic, the track blends raw energy with reflective lyricism, capturing the freeing spirit of living in the moment while letting go of people-pleasing and external expectations.

“The song is about living life to the fullest. It’s about trying to enjoy everyday,” Miles explains. “I’ve had some huge life-changing events happen in the past couple of years and I think it made me care a little less about what people think about me, and people pleasing in general but in a positive way. It’s been freeing to lose some of that.”

With its title evoking the cinematic cool of The Lost Boys and its hooky chorus begging to be shouted back, “Reckless Kids” is both nostalgic and forward-looking. What sounds like a conversation with others is, in fact, Miles speaking directly to himself, offering an intimate and universal reflection on chasing dreams and claiming joy.

The track’s journey was a surprising one: initially envisioned as an early-2000s Pharrell-inspired beat, it evolved into its current form after Miles shared the demo at a studio session. “I pulled up this one song that I didn’t think fit the album and when I played it for them they all seemed floored. The next day I started working on that song again and it became ‘Reckless Kids.’”

True to his DIY ethos, Miles played all instruments, sang all lead vocals, and mixed the track himself. The result is a maximalist-yet-intimate anthem that straddles Miles’ love for DIY punk spirit and garage-pop immediacy.

Like all his recent solo work, “Reckless Kids” underscores a guiding theme: music as self-reflection. “I tend to write music about people – including myself – and how they made me feel or what I perceive in different situations. It’s what naturally comes out when I write lyrics.”