Photo courtesy artist

Brooklyn artist Harrison Lipton this week week released his new single "Happiness!?" and it feels like the perfect vibe for the transition from summer to fall in the middle of global crisis as New York itself tries to recreate some semblance of "normal."

In the largely animated accompanying video, the 26-year-old singer, songwriter and producer is seen as his non-animated self sitting in a field eating strawberries while watching TV, as one does. In a matter of seconds, a personified strawberry appears on the television screen, jogging through what is clearly Brooklyn, passing local fixtures such as Rough Trade Records, Baby's All Right, Sunny's Bar, the Brooklyn Bridge, The Good Fork, Court Street Grocers, Mercury Lounge and more.

"Toward the end of a short-lived, cinematic situationship, I could feel us slipping apart even though it hadn’t become fully apparent yet," recalls Lipton of the inspiration for the song. "When I was with them, I’d feel intoxicated and overcome with happiness. We’d say sweet nothings to each other, but still, both of us knew itwas going to end. I’d stay up 'til 6-7 a.m. with friends partying just to push it away, but the fear of the connection ending loomed over me."

Of the video, he adds: "'Happiness!?' is a love letter to NYC. I first came up with this idea for a video pre-quarantine, but now this depiction has a tinge of melancholy to it. As a city, we’ve been through so much. We’ve had great moments, like coming together to protest, creating community fridges, etc., but we’ve also had terrible moments, like countless incidents of police brutality, battling covid-19, as well as struggling small businesses and venues. I hope this can encourage people to remember how amazing NYC is when we’re at our best, and I also hope everyone can continue to show support + donate what you can to help our venues. 🍓"

Fittingly, the new song is a preview of Lipton's upcoming EP, which is called Strawberryys

See the video below.