Aloe Blacc and Eric Hirshberg step away from the noise on “For Real”

Eric Hirshberg’s new single with Aloe Blacc, “For Real,” takes aim at the low-grade tension of living through screens. It’s a song about trying to talk again, listen again, and make sense of each other outside the digital churn. Out now, the track also signals Hirshberg’s upcoming third album, More Is Not The Answer, due in early2026.

The premise is simple enough: step away from devices, talk to each other, leave algorithmic sorting at the door. Hirshberg and Blacc say this came from conversations about trying to use phones less. The lyrics stay literal. There are lines about breaking free and choosing to actually listen. No jargon, no grand theory.

Sonically, they call it “Cinematic Folk.” That checks out. The arrangement is built around acoustic instruments and an easy, forward tempo, but the chorus scales up like a soundtrack cue. Strings swell, the drums get wider, and Blacc’s voice moves the song from small room to big frame.



Blacc handles the lift you’d expect. He doesn’t oversing, and he doesn’t try to turn the track into a belting moment either. The tone is measured, which helps when the message risks sounding like advice. Hirshberg’s writing gives him clean, declarative phrases to carry. The hook lands because it’s short and repeatable.

You can hear the two trying to land in the overlap between their worlds. Hirshberg’s earlier work leaned intimate. Blacc comes from pop and R&B with global reach. Here, the guitars stay dry, the low end is steady, and the vocal stacks do most of the lifting. If you want a producer trick, it’s the way the chorus voices open up the middle without cranking volume.

As a follow-up to their 2024 track “I Love Not Drinking,” this one turns from personal habit to social behavior. It’s more public-facing, less diaristic. Whether that connects will depend on your appetite for songs that say what they mean outright. There’s no coded metaphor to chase.

For now, “For Real” is a functional proof of concept. Stream it now and keep an eye out for More Is Not The Answer in 2026.