Singer/songwriter Danny Malone fights for the life he wants to live on “Better Things,” an emotionally charged anthem that confronts years of grief and addiction with fierce, hard-won hope. A bruised, brutally raw, and utterly life-affirming highlight off his forthcoming album ‘Flowers pt. 1,’ the song captures an artist’s extraordinary return to music – and the infectious joy of finally choosing to stop running and start living.

Stream: “Better Things” – Danny Malone

The future gets a whole lot louder when you decide you want to be part of it.

Bruised, defiant, and wildly hopeful, Danny Malone’s “Better Things” channels a renewed hunger for life into a gorgeous, piano-laced anthem whose buoyant melodies can barely contain the force of his conviction. The singer/songwriter meets the pain of his past with an irrepressible appetite for everything still ahead, singing with the desperation and delight of a man who’s finally ready to stop running and start living. It’s a beautiful, fiercely felt celebration of second chances – and the courage it takes to build a better life from the ground up.

South Carolina almost
Nor Oklahoma, that’s closed
Let’s try to get my feet back,
back under me
Oh Mexico, my best friend
Norway was in the question
Let’s try to get my seat back
in the throttle chair

Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “Better Things,” the stirring new single and accompanying music video from Texas-born, Nashville-based singer/songwriter Danny Malone. Arriving November 13, the song follows October’s “Burning Hills” and offers another glimpse into his forthcoming album, Flowers pt. 1 (out February 19, 2027) – a remarkable return to music after nearly a decade spent battling addiction, navigating profound personal loss, and fighting to reclaim his life.

Malone’s story is as harrowing as it is extraordinary. Once a rising artist with several acclaimed albums and tours across North America and Europe under his belt, he gradually disappeared from the music world as his drug use spiraled out of control. He eventually began selling his instruments to sustain his addiction, leaving behind the very art that had long given him purpose. Years passed. An initial attempt at sobriety brought a period of healing, but the strain of caring for his ailing mother preceded a devastating relapse. Determined to change his life, Malone sought a second round of ibogaine treatment in Mexico – an experience he credits with intensely reshaping his understanding of himself and his future.

What followed was an astonishing creative awakening.

After years of struggling to write, Malone suddenly found music pouring out of him again, beginning with “Burning Hills,” followed by “Human” and then “Better Things” – three compositions that now open Flowers pt. 1. The songs carry an urgency born of everything he has endured, and an intimacy that makes his transformation all the more affecting. For Malone, songwriting has always been a sacred place to tell the truth, however difficult that truth may be. And the story behind “Better Things” takes that commitment to a deeply personal place.

“This song is the anthem of my rebirth and new determination to fight every day for the life I want to live,” Malone tells Atwood Magazine. “Like the rest of Flowers pt. 1, it was written while I was in a rehab facility, going through treatment using ibogaine, a psychedelic.”

“In a vision, my ex-girlfriend, Madi, who died by suicide, came to me and did exactly as I mention in the second verse–she came to me from the afterlife and entered my body through my mouth (for she was in spirit form and so made of smoke or an amorphous cloud of herself, essentially), as I gasped in amazement. She went into my heart space, and then a feeling exploded through my body that, in a single moment, cleared the energy of addiction from my life. I promise on my life that this happened…”

“Her spirit could tell that’s what I desperately wanted, and she granted me that wish from the afterlife. I knew in that moment I was never going to use drugs again. And that my life had an incredible purpose. It’s something I will never forget, and my gratitude for that gift is the fuel that my life runs on.”

The experience Malone describes is startling in its spiritual intensity, but “Better Things” begins somewhere far more earthly: With a list of places he might have gone to escape the life he was living. South Carolina, Oklahoma, Mexico, Norway – each represents another possible way out, another distant horizon where he might have continued hiding. Their presence reveals just how dramatically his perspective had shifted.

“Before treatment, I was just thinking of places I could continue running away and hiding from life, but after treatment, I decided I was sick of running. The first verse of “Better Things” takes the listener through a few of the places I was genuinely considering moving to and hiding away somewhere, before I decided to toughen up and start heading toward my destiny.”

A bright, lilting piano melody gives “Better Things” an almost disarmingly cheerful beginning, its endearing bounce soon joined by jangling acoustic guitars. There’s an easy sweetness to these opening moments, a homespun charm that makes the song’s emotional intensity all the more striking when the chorus arrives. Drums come crashing in, Anthony da Costa’s bass surges forward, and Malone’s voice rises into a feverish, full-throated cry. The music swells and churns around him, its sunny disposition colliding with an almost desperate urgency. It’s exhilarating to hear him let loose, the ragged edges of his delivery lending an irresistible sincerity to every word.

I was lookin at the world and it was sick
I’ll build a new world brick by brick
I’m lookin at the better things
It’s gonna change everything
I’m thinkin this change is gonna stick

“I was lookin at the world and it was sick / I’ll build a new world brick by brick,” Malone roars, giving the song its central declaration. There’s tremendous power in the simplicity of this image: A man who’s spent years watching his world fall apart decides to pick up the pieces himself. Each brick represents another choice, another day, another opportunity to move toward the person he wants to become. And when he cries, “I’m lookin at the better things / It’s gonna change everything / I’m thinkin this change is gonna stick,” the words carry the conviction of someone who understands exactly what’s at stake. His optimism is fierce and deliberate, a promise he intends to honor through the work of living.

The second verse brings the song’s backstory into focus, offering a startlingly intimate account of Malone’s experience with Madison during treatment. “Oh Madison’s in me now / She entered me through my mouth / She went into my heart first / Then exploded through my body,” he sings, preserving the supernatural imagery of his vision with breathtaking candor. There’s grief here, certainly, but also profound gratitude and an enduring sense of love. By singing about an experience so intensely personal, Malone invites listeners into a moment that fundamentally changed his understanding of life itself. Madison’s memory lives within these lyrics as a source of strength, her presence woven into the very music that celebrates his survival.

And perhaps the most affecting element of “Better Things” is Malone’s voice itself. He recalls that he hadn’t sung loudly in years before writing this song, and there’s a thrilling sense of rediscovery in his performance. The verses practically smile, their easygoing melodies carrying the warmth of a man learning to enjoy himself again. But the chorus is all exposed nerves and unbridled emotion, his voice straining and cracking as he reaches for the highest notes. It’s unapologetically imperfect, bursting with an energy that seems to surprise even the singer himself. The result is a song as joyous as it is devastating, one whose musical exuberance gives its deeply personal message an irresistible lift.

The accompanying music video adds another dimension to Malone’s comeback, embracing a sense of mischief and spontaneity that complements the song’s emotional intensity.

Rather than attempting to recreate the bold visions that inspired “Better Things,” the clip revels in the simple, everyday pleasures of being alive. There’s a wonderful freedom to its playful spirit, and a refreshing lightheartedness that allows us to experience a different side of the man behind such a heavy story.

“The video was a spontaneous idea that Caylan Hays and I came up with while driving around Nashville. Caylan also directed the “Burning Hills” video, which ends with me arriving at my regular day job in the morning. The “Better Things” video picks up with me leaving work at night and heading out into the crazy things I get into now that I’m sober and want to live life to the fullest.”

That continuity between the two videos is a lovely bit of storytelling, giving Malone’s musical rebirth its own unfolding narrative. Where “Burning Hills” concludes with the responsibilities of an ordinary workday, “Better Things” opens the door to everything that awaits once the shift is over. The distinction is beautifully meaningful for an artist rebuilding his career and personal life simultaneously. He’s embracing the responsibilities of adulthood alongside the freedom to have fun, finding room for adventure amid the routines that keep him grounded.

Directed, shot, and edited by Hays, the video captures the unpredictability of a night out in Nashville. A chance encounter with a BMX track inspired one of its two major scenes, while an excursion downtown provided another opportunity for spontaneous adventure. The resulting footage has a delightful, freewheeling quality, with Malone’s infectious enthusiasm lending the whole affair an unmistakable sense of personality. What began as an impromptu creative experiment becomes a charming portrait of a man rediscovering the pleasures of participating in the world around him.

And therein lies the beautiful connection between the song and its visual counterpart. “Better Things” gives voice to the monumental decision to change one’s life, while its music video celebrates the everyday experiences that make that decision worthwhile. The late-night adventures, the unexpected detours, the simple pleasure of laughing and getting a little ridiculous with a friend – these are the moments Malone has fought so hard to reclaim. His song is a declaration of intent, and the video offers a glimpse of that intention becoming reality. After years spent running from life, he’s finally running toward it, with his arms wide open.

The connection between the two videos also speaks to a larger story unfolding through Malone’s music. Released in October, “Burning Hills” marked his first single in nearly a decade, introducing an exciting new chapter in his artistry. Written during his second ibogaine treatment, the song emerged at a moment when Malone had begun to doubt whether he could ever write music again. Its lyrics wrestle with mortality, suffering, and the possibility of finding purpose in even life’s most devastating experiences. Inspired partly by a psychedelic vision of his beloved elderly cat Simone, “Burning Hills” helped Malone arrive at a radical new understanding of existence: That pain could become a source of meaning, and that the life he’d been given was still his to shape.

“The line ‘my pain is paint purely’ changed my life,” Malone explains. “It locked in the perspective that was necessary for me to survive everything a human has to survive just to get through life.”

There’s a beautiful progression from “Burning Hills” to “Better Things,” both musically and emotionally. Where the former introduces Malone’s spiritual awakening and his decision to confront the difficulties of being alive, the latter charges forward with all the restless energy of a man determined to put those revelations into practice. The first song establishes a philosophy; the second puts it into motion. Together, they trace the earliest stages of a powerful personal transformation, with Malone’s reinvigorated songwriting giving shape to a future he once struggled to imagine. The continuity makes “Better Things” all the more affecting, allowing listeners to experience his resurgence as an unfolding story rather than a single triumphant moment.

This is the beating heart of Flowers pt. 1, an album whose very existence feels miraculous given everything Malone has endured.

Recorded with his longtime friend and producer Anthony da Costa, the project chronicles the singer/songwriter’s return to himself through songs that confront the darkest chapters of his life while reaching toward a brighter tomorrow. Songs like “Human” and “Stay Calm” deepen that reckoning, while the delicate piano ballad “Some Love” explores the enduring presence of Madison in his life and memory. The record eventually arrives at the fittingly titled “New Life,” an optimistic conclusion to a body of work shaped by unimaginable hardship. Tragically, Malone also lost his brother Teddy to suicide while making the album, a devastating experience that adds another dimension to its ongoing conversation with grief, mortality, and the fragile beauty of existence.

Yet for all the sorrow woven into its story, Flowers pt. 1 is ultimately animated by the extraordinary possibilities of being alive. Its songs document the difficult work of rebuilding an identity, embracing accountability, and learning to trust yourself after years of disappointment. Malone has spoken about wanting his newer material to reinforce the perspective he fought so hard to develop, and that intention gives the record an especially compelling sense of purpose. These compositions are deeply personal affirmations, meant to sustain their creator through the challenges still to come.

“I wanted to write songs that would cast spells of positivity on me as I sing them over and over at shows,” Malone smiles. “I finally wanted to stop casting those darker spells from the lyrics of the old songs.”

This philosophy underscores why Malone’s return is so worth celebrating. His music inhabits a beautifully unpredictable space, borrowing folk’s intimate storytelling, power pop’s irresistible melodic sensibility, and indie rock’s unruly, full-bodied abandon. His voice is equally distinctive, capable of delivering a delicate confession one moment and an impassioned, gravelly howl the next. But what makes him such a compelling artist is the unfiltered candor with which he shares his experiences – let alone his sheer humanity. Malone writes with the conviction of someone who understands the stakes of every word, allowing humor and joy to coexist with immense suffering. His songs are messy in the way life itself is messy, filled with contradictions that make their emotional truths resonate all the more deeply.

And perhaps that’s why “Better Things” lands with such tremendous force. Its message reaches far beyond Malone’s personal experiences, speaking to anyone who has ever struggled to imagine a better future for themselves. Change can be frightening, exhausting, and painfully slow. It demands patience and perseverance, often long before the rewards become visible. But the possibility of building a life you genuinely love is worth fighting for, however difficult that fight may be. Malone gives that belief a melody you can sing along to and a chorus you can scream at the top of your lungs, inviting us to share in the exhilarating possibility that tomorrow really can be different. His enthusiasm is infectious, his sincerity disarming, and his determination enough to make even the most cynical listener crack a smile.

Flowers pt. 1 arrives February 19, 2027, promising a deeply moving portrait of an artist embracing his second chance with everything he’s got.

Until then, “Better Things” offers a striking introduction to the man Danny Malone has become, and the music he’s making along the way. He has fought his way back to songwriting, back to the stage, and back to a life he genuinely wants to live – and hearing that transformation unfold through his art is a privilege.

Atwood Magazine recently caught up with Malone for an intimate, revealing conversation about his remarkable journey, the experiences that brought him here, and the music that’s helping him build his future.

Dive into our exclusive premiere and interview below, and let “Better Things” remind you that there’s still so much life ahead worth getting excited about. The future is calling, and Danny Malone is finally ready to answer.

Oh Madison’s in me now
She entered me through my mouth
She went into my heart first
Then exploded through my body
She’s channeling this song now
‘Cause I know that we became one
Let’s try to get my heat back…
Yeah, I’m the Sun

I was lookin at the world and it was sick
I’ll build a new world brick by brick
I’m lookin at the better things
It’s gonna change everything
I’m thinkin this change is gonna stick

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:: stream/purchase Better Things here ::

:: connect with Danny Malone here ::

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Stream: “Better Things” – Danny Malone

A CONVERSATION WITH DANNY MALONE

Danny Malone: Well, I would like them to know that I see songwriting as a sacred place to tell the truth. So, I vow my utter and complete honesty to them, even if that includes the chaotic and sometimes contradictory nature of how my mind works. Sharing my songs with people is what has always saved my life. Even in the depths of addiction, I still used music as my way to reach out to people and at least be genuine there, even if I was lying and hiding things elsewhere in life to continue my addiction. Now that I’m sober, music is what connects me to people on this new vibration of realistic positivity. Music is what connects me with people in the deepest way, and connection is the opposite of addiction. So it’s what I must do with my life to stay on the good path moving forward. Music is no small thing… It’s life or death for me.

Danny Malone: Yes, the older music I have out is much different than what I’m writing today. It speaks on the darker elements and depressive states I was going through back then. Mentions drugs a lot, etc. I’ve always just written about what’s going on in my life, as if I’m sharing my diary through song. So, of course, I was mentioning the drug use and perspectives I had back then. I still feel proud of what I wrote, and there’s good poetry in there, and I, of course, always cared deeply about the music, so I can still stand behind it. When I first got sober, though, I couldn’t play the old songs anymore because it felt like they were written by such a different person. I would have felt disingenuous trying to deliver them. And I was also trying to distance myself from that state of mind and truly build a new identity, internally. But I’ve come back around to being able to play those songs these days. I actually quite enjoy it, to sort of retrace my story and more deeply understand how far I’ve come.

The new material I’m writing has a much more triumphant tone. I wanted to write songs that would cast spells of positivity on me as I sing them over and over at shows. I finally wanted to stop casting those darker spells from the lyrics of the old songs. I needed a new perspective to really sink my teeth into, and make this new identity last a lifetime. So it’s definitely different in that way – the huge perspective shift of taking accountability for my own life and happiness, rather than feeling like a victim of life’s circumstances – but it has retained the deeply personal world I tend to share in the lyrics. It’s just that that world is a different internal world now.

Danny Malone: It was honestly a miracle to me that I could still write music after nearly 10 years away from it, and after all the damage I’d done to my brain from the drug use and lifestyle. After that second treatment, or actually DURING the second treatment, I could feel a song start to form, almost totally completed in my mind. I just had to wait for the psychedelic to wear off before I could find a guitar and actually play the song. The song was “Burning Hills,” and the feeling I had when that song started to move through me was utter disbelief. After my first try getting sober, I had tried to write songs and nothing would happen, or I couldn’t sit long enough to allow a song to happen. Even though I was sober, I was too raw and emotional and deeply uncomfortable with myself to write anything. I’d get too sad. I thought I had f***ed up my life too much to continue calling myself a songwriter. Then, of course, I eventually relapsed. But I think because I did that second ibogaine treatment completely of my own accord, without anyone telling me to do it – it was my own personal, internal decision to get clean (as opposed to the first try, when there were a lot of people pleading with me to get help and I finally acquiesced). Reconnecting to music after that second treatment was life-changing. I knew immediately that my life was going to find its footing again, and things would start to fall into place. And all of that is starting to come true now. It’s so wild. Mind-boggling.

Danny Malone: “Burning Hills” is perhaps the single most important piece of writing I’ve ever produced. The line “my pain is paint purely” changed my life. It locked in the perspective that was necessary for me to survive everything a human has to survive just to get through life. And that perspective, I realized, would not just help me. It could truly help others. And there is no greater gift in life than to help others. It’s the gift that keeps giving. “Burning Hills” was what started it all, and I will forever cherish this song for that reason. It was a true miracle to be given the gift of songwriting again in this incredible burst that started with “Burning Hills.” It mentions a vision I had of my elderly cat Simone in the psychedelic realm. My cat appeared in this magnificent way – she looked so astonishingly beautiful in the vision, I audibly gasped – but then her cat form suddenly morphed into this mystical, magnificently colored beast that was thousands of feet tall with several tails that moved in impossible ways. Then her form changed several more times into other impossible shapes, but somehow retaining the presence of her soul in each form, and at that point my intuition kicked in, and I felt I was being told that she won’t die; when she dies, she’ll just change forms.

The spirit world was communicating to me through the ibogaine, trying to comfort me about Simone’s impending death in this earth realm, by telling me her soul won’t die. And my intuition continued connecting the dots that if she won’t die when she dies, neither will I. And furthermore, because I won’t die when I die, then I have no choice but to figure out how to live a happy existence IN THIS LIFETIME. Because if I just die having never figured out a way out of the pain of life, I’ll just take it with me into the next life and the next life after that. Basically, there’s no escaping the pain of life through death because we are everlasting beings. So there’s no choice but to figure it out as soon as possible. I have no proof of this, of course, but it doesn’t matter. This perspective shift has been critical to me forging a functional life that I can face and that I’m proud to stand in.

Danny Malone: This was the third song I wrote following the ibogaine experience (after “Burning Hills” and “Human”). Songs were coming so quickly, and I remember feeling the energy increasing in me, and that I wanted a song to rock, and I wanted to push my vocal range, which I wasn’t even sure was possible. I had not sung loudly in so many years. And both “Burning Hills” and “Human” are in an easier range for me to sing – or, at least, I wasn’t pushing on those songs. But I felt the need to rock arising in me (haha), and so “Better Things” was born. I honestly just heard the chorus playing in my head and had to run and find the guitar again to finish it. And I quickly decided what the verses would be, and the song was done in minutes.

Danny Malone: Those places I mentioned were places I genuinely had been considering moving to just to continue hiding from the world. They felt like escapes because they weren’t the places where I had any plan of engaging with my purpose – which I believe is sharing my story through songwriting and performance. Even Mexico – a place I deeply appreciated while living there for a couple of years – was not the place where I could make the most impact with my art. And when I make and share my art is when I feel I’m not hiding. So I suppose I felt this determination to finally share my soul with people again. Because I knew I had to do that to survive and stay sober. I need to deeply connect with people to stay sober, and music is what connects me most deeply with people.

Danny Malone: I remember just having this realization that I was done looking at the world around me and being disappointed, or looking at my damn phone and seeing all this bad news all over the world, or looking at my sad reality with no future (like when I was relapsing while taking care of my elderly mother), and I was just sick of the negativity. I was done with it. And I knew that by writing these songs, and putting myself back out there into the world, things would begin to align little by little, and I would build a life that I was proud to stand in. And over the last year and a half, that has begun to happen in an incredible way. I finally suffered enough, I guess, and just decided to put all my effort into building a life I actually wanted. I put the vision in my mind, and I’ve been working toward it every day. And I continue growing the vision, and working toward the new goal. It’s actually made life so interesting to see it all start coming together. I’m just deeply grateful. I’m letting that gratitude lead the way.

Danny Malone: Well, I think in the moment, I wanted to write those lyrics about that mystical event that happened in the psychedelic realm – where Madison’s spirit entered my body and removed or cleared the energy causing addiction and holding me back from total self-expression. I needed those lyrics simply to remember that moment forever. It was the most mystical thing that’s ever happened to me. So, really, I wrote them just to lock that memory in. But also I wanted people to know what happened… to know that Madison saved me. It was so supernatural. I had to tell people about it. Sharing it felt like the right thing to do.

Danny Malone: Well, in the studio it came together very quickly. It was clear it needed to rock and have a full arrangement. I had written the song on guitar, but in the studio I played the catchy lead line on the piano, and thought that would be a nice way to start the song. Then the acoustics come in, and at the chorus the drums and bass come slamming in, and we’re just on this ride for the rest of the song. It’s fun, but then it’s also heavy, and I think it just has an interesting mix of emotions. But it definitely satisfied my need to rock on a song.

Anthony da Costa (who produced and engineered this track as well as the rest of the album) played a ripping bass line on this song. He’s probably the most talented musician I’ve ever played with, so I knew he would nail the bass on this song. Then we added synths and backing vocals and just had a blast recording this one. A lot of people were in and around the studio when we were recording it, and the environment was really fun. My buddy Cory Branan even stopped by and made some arrangement suggestions, which we actually went with. This was just a super fun song to record. I think my vocal was just one take, and then I doubled the chorus with one take, and that was that.

Danny Malone: Well, both of these videos were directed, shot, and edited by Caylan Hays, and she’s just super talented. She’s a wonderful songwriter in Nashville, and clearly a super talented film/videographer. She came up with the idea to end the first video, “Burning Hills,” by going to a day job, and then we both thought it would be a charming easter egg to be leaving that same job to begin the second video, “Better Things.” I was actually helping Caylan move to a new place she’d rented in Nashville, so I had this big couch that we got off of Facebook Marketplace in the back of my van, when we happened to drive by a BMX bike track, and we suddenly knew we needed to put that in the video. We shot that BMX scene one night, then the next night we went to downtown Nashville and shot the remainder. We just knew we’d get into something fun if we went downtown on a busy night. And we certainly did. We had a blast. And that’s what we both wanted “Better Things” to feel like – just fun for the sake of fun. It also just represents my new determination to be deeply involved with life, which is what’s suggested in the lyrics, and what’s shown in the video. Caylan is incredible at editing and finding the genuine parts of me that shine through here and there. So, I had every confidence she’d find the good stuff if we just got into some fun together. And she knocked it out of the park. I’m deeply grateful to have met Caylan and be making this series of videos together. There will be more after this.

Danny Malone: This record is the most important thing I’ve done in my life because it was the centerpiece of getting my life back into a flow state again. The moment I wrote “Burning Hills,” I knew something special was happening. I could see exactly what needed to happen moving forward. Then I wrote “Human,” and couldn’t believe I had written it. And I just knew what to do after that. Write the album, record the album, start playing again in front of people, and the rest will fall into place. It’s like this invisible thread appeared for me to follow to make my way through the dark forest of life ahead of me. Like my higher self tied this string to different trees as it backed its way through the forest, and now I’m pinching that string, one hand in front of the other, again and again as I follow it through the forest. Does that make sense? I’m following this invisible thread. And this album started it. Crazy things have been happening. I mean, my brother died by suicide while I was making this album, which made me decide to move to Nashville to get space away from where he died. And that was so tragic. But I still feel the presence of this invisible string guiding me, even through such a horrible tragedy. So, I just think this album was made by some force bigger than me. And I’m just doing my job to follow through on whatever supernatural force is going on with it.

Danny Malone: I hope listeners catch on to the determination in this song and can implement the same feeling into their own lives if they want it. We all deserve love and a life that we are proud to stand in, and if at all possible, I’d love for this song to pump someone up enough to put that change into their own heart, and then make it happen in their own life. You deserve it. You deserve the life you want. You just gotta work for it. And it might take time. But it’s fulfilling when you’re headed toward a righteous goal like that. I love all of you.

And as for the whole album Flowers Pt. 1, I just hope the authenticity present in the album can help the listener feel free to be their own authentic self. It’s so healing to finally feel the permission to be yourself, and build the life you actually want. That’s what I want for me, and that’s what I want for everyone. And I hope this album can share with people the change that happened in me, and if they need a change, they can use it to help them.

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