Fuck This Town
{{good article}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Fuck This Town
| cover = Fuck This Town.png
| alt = Two boys standing atop a balcony holding up middle fingers in the air
| border =
| type = single
| EP = Then I'll Be Happy
| released = {{Start date|2021|07|09}}
| recorded =
| studio =
| genre = Pop
| length = 1:55
| label = * Interscope
- Listen to the Kids
| writer = * Ash Gutierrez
- Eric Lopez
- Jaehyun Kim
- John Ong
- Ethan Snoreck
| producer = * Glasear
- Kimj
- Whethan
| misc = {{Extra chronology
| artist = Glaive
| type = single
| prev_title = Detest Me
| prev_year = 2021
| title = Fuck This Town
| year = 2021
| next_title = Bastard
| next_year = 2021
}}
{{Extra chronology
| artist = Ericdoa
| type = single
| prev_title = Fantasize
| prev_year = 2021
| title = Fuck This Town
| year = 2021
| next_title = Back n Forth
| next_year = 2021
}}
{{External music video|{{YouTube|cahg3WXeSdU|"Fuck This Town"}}}}
}}
"Fuck This Town" is a song by the American musicians Glaive and Ericdoa from their collaborative extended play (EP), Then I'll Be Happy (2021). It was released by Interscope Records and Listen to the Kids on July 9, 2021, as the EP's second single. The song was written by Glaive and Ericdoa alongside its producers, Glasear, Kimj, and Whethan. It was the first song the duo recorded during the second time they had met in person. It was the first song in which they wrote a hook together.
"Fuck This Town" is a pop song that also contains influences from emo and alternative music. The song is characterized by dance rhythms and a gloomy chorus performed atop drums. It was deemed a standout track from Then I'll Be Happy by reviewers; The Line of Best Fit considered it one of the best songs from 2021. The song was released alongside a music video.
Background and release
Glaive and Ericdoa are frequent collaborators and are considered stars in the digicore scene.{{Cite web |last=Kenneally |first=Cerys |date=November 12, 2021 |title=Ericdoa delivers new track 'Strangers' |url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/latest-news/ericdoa-delivers-new-track-strangers |access-date=March 10, 2025 |website=The Line of Best Fit}}{{Cite web |last=Sundaresan |first=Mano |date=October 12, 2021 |title=glaive / ericdoa: then i'll be happy EP Album Review |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/glaive-ericdoa-then-ill-be-happy-ep/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211012040609/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/glaive-ericdoa-then-ill-be-happy-ep/ |archive-date=October 12, 2021 |access-date=March 10, 2025 |website=Pitchfork}} They teased collaborations with each other on their social media and released their collaborative extended play (EP), Then I'll Be Happy on October 6, 2021.{{Cite web |last=Kenneally |first=Cerys |date=October 6, 2021 |title=glaive and ericdoa release collaborative EP then i'll be happy |url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/latest-news/glaive-and-ericdoa-release-collaborative-ep-then-ill-be-happy |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006134000/https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/latest-news/glaive-and-ericdoa-release-collaborative-ep-then-ill-be-happy |archive-date=October 6, 2021 |access-date=March 10, 2025 |website=The Line of Best Fit}} They released its lead single, "Cloak n Dagger", on January 20, 2021.{{Cite web |last=Kent |first=Matthew |date=January 21, 2021 |title=Pop trailblazers glaive and ericdoa unite on 'cloak n dagger' |url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/new-music/discovery/glaive-ericdoa-cloak-n-dagger |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121190208/https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/new-music/discovery/glaive-ericdoa-cloak-n-dagger |archive-date=January 21, 2021 |access-date=March 10, 2025 |website=The Line of Best Fit}} It was followed by "Fuck This Town" on July 9, which was released alongside a music video.{{Cite web |last=Kenneally |first=Cerys |date=July 9, 2021 |title=glaive and ericdoa preview collaborative EP with new outing 'fuck this town' |url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/latest-news/glaive-and-ericdoa-preview-collaborative-ep-with-new-outing-fuck-this-town |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709165732/https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/latest-news/glaive-and-ericdoa-preview-collaborative-ep-with-new-outing-fuck-this-town |archive-date=July 9, 2021 |access-date=March 10, 2025 |website=The Line of Best Fit}} It was the first song the duo recorded after they met in person for the second time. It was also the first song in which they wrote the hook together. Released through Interscope Records and Listen to the Kids, it appears as the eighth and final track on Then I'll Be Happy.{{Cite web |last=Glaive |author-link=Glaive (musician) |last2=Ericdoa |author-link2=Ericdoa |date=October 6, 2021 |title=Then I'll Be Happy |url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/then-ill-be-happy/1588137015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006041026/https://music.apple.com/us/album/then-ill-be-happy/1588137015 |archive-date=October 6, 2021 |access-date=March 11, 2025 |publisher=Apple Music (US)}} Glaive and Ericdoa wrote the song alongside its producers, Glasear, Kimj, and Whethan, all of whom recorded the track. Prash 'Engine-Earz' Mistry handled the song's mixing.{{Cite web |last=Glaive |author-link=Glaive (musician) |last2=Ericdoa |author-link2=Ericdoa |date=July 9, 2021 |title='f**k this town' Credits |url=https://music.apple.com/us/song/f-k-this-town/1574986026 |access-date=March 11, 2025 |publisher=Apple Music (US)}}
Composition
"Fuck This Town" is 1 minute and 55 seconds long. It is a pop song characterized by dance rhythms and a gloomy chorus performed atop drums.{{Cite web |last=Galil |first=Leor |date=October 25, 2021 |title=Hyperpop phenoms Glaive and ericdoa unite on then i’ll be happy |url=https://chicagoreader.com/music/glaive-ericdoa-hyperpop/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026033731/https://chicagoreader.com/music/glaive-ericdoa-hyperpop/ |archive-date=October 26, 2021 |access-date=March 11, 2025 |website=Chicago Reader}} Its sound palette also draws from emo and alternative influences.{{Cite web |last=Kent |first=Matthew |date=December 20, 2021 |title=The Best Songs of 2021 Ranked |url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/features/articles/best-songs-of-2021-ranked |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211220120232/https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/features/articles/best-songs-of-2021-ranked |archive-date=December 20, 2021 |access-date=March 11, 2025 |website=The Line of Best Fit}} The song's lyrics explore the desire to leave the town where one grew up.{{Cite web |last=Juon |first=Steve 'Flash' |date=October 26, 2021 |title=glaive & ericdoa :: then i'll be happy |url=https://www.rapreviews.com/2021/10/glaive-ericdoa-then-ill-be-happy/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028040017/https://www.rapreviews.com/2021/10/glaive-ericdoa-then-ill-be-happy/ |archive-date=October 28, 2021 |access-date=March 11, 2025 |website=RapReviews}} Mano Sundaresan of Pitchfork highlighted the track's "off-the-cuff arrangements" and described its songwriting as "confessional", writing that it "could be read as rap or emo". He also compared the mixing of the chorus to flashing strobe lights. The Chicago Reader's Leor Galil called it a "roof-destroying skewed-pop anthem".
Critical reception
Sundaresan and Galil both named "Fuck This Town" a standout track from Then I'll Be Happy. Sundaresan called it a "thoughtful genre [exploration] that subvert norms instead of succumbing to them", while Galil said Glaive and Ericdoa "lock in together" on the track, stating "the possibilities feel endless". The staff from The Line of Best Fit considered "Fuck This Town" the 17th best song of 2021. Matthew Kent called it "an addictive angsty anthem" and "ultimately a manic manifestation of the future of pop". Derrick Rossignol for Uproxx said "it packs a lot of energy and hooks into its sub-two-minute runtime".{{Cite web |last=Rossignol |first=Derrick |date=July 9, 2021 |title=Glaive And Ericdoa Team Up For The Rebellious Single 'F*ck This Town' |url=https://uproxx.com/indie/glaive-ericdoa-fck-this-town/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204093149/https://uproxx.com/indie/glaive-ericdoa-fck-this-town/ |archive-date=December 4, 2021 |access-date=March 11, 2025 |website=Uproxx}} Shaad D'Souza from Paper particularly lauded the song's hook; he called it "a perfect blast of energy for a pop hook" and hopes "it populates many teen diaries for years to come".{{Cite web |last=D'Souza |first=Shaad |date=July 9, 2021 |title=Sound Off: 10 New Songs You Need to Hear Now |url=https://www.papermag.com/sound-off-troye-sivan-billie-eilish |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004174250/https://www.papermag.com/sound-off-troye-sivan-billie-eilish |archive-date=October 4, 2023 |access-date=March 10, 2025 |website=Paper}} In a negative review of Then I'll Be Happy for RapReviews, Steve "Flash" Juon stated that it could possibly "exceed the clichés of [