What better to mark the last day of summer that with a new single from the King of the Fall? Toronto singer the Weeknd has returned with the “Starboy”, his first song since last year’s The Beauty Behind the Madness. The song features production from French electronic duo Daft Punk, of whom the Weeknd once stated it would be “one of [his] biggest dreams” to collaborate with.

The track comes with the announcement of a new album, also titled Starboy, due out November 25th (you can preorder the album today on iTunes). The tracklist promises 18 songs, including “Starboy” and an unheard track called “False Alarm” (all other songs are as-yet untitled).

The Weeknd’s proclamation of himself as “a motherfucking starboy” comes complete with a new look and sound for the artist, à la David Bowie for albums like Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane. Gone is the Weeknd’s characteristic hairstyle, a look that became synonymous with the artist himself; and rather than the typical black-and-white colour schemes of most of his previous albums, the album art for Starboy features a neon blue-lit Weeknd, cross hanging from his neck, in front of a red background with the title popping out in bright yellow text. It’s still a look that fits his moody aesthetic, but the Weeknd seems to be branching out. The cover art was shot by Nabil, a photographer/director who’s worked with Frank Ocean (“Pyramids”, “Novacane”), Kanye West (“Mercy”, “Paranoid”), and with Vince Staples on his recent Prima Donna short film.

The Weeknd hass promised a new sound along with his new look, and has stated that the new album is sonically inspired by artists like the Smiths, Talking Heads, and Prince. He is also reportedly working with Doc McKinney, La Mar C Taylor, and Carlo Montagnese: the crew that helped craft his breakout mixtape House of Balloons, a record that’s often credited with ushering in the current era of new R&B. House of Balloons, along with Thursday and Echoes of Silence, were released back when the Weeknd was still a mystery: despite taking the music world by storm, he had never given a single interview, and nobody knew who he was.

His transition to the popstar who he is today – who’s contributed songs to the Hunger Games and 50 Shades of Grey soundtracks; worked with Kanye, Beyoncé, and Lana del Rey; and starred in a commercial with John Travolta – came with his two studio albums, Kiss Land and Beauty Behind the Madness. While both were undoubtedly great albums, their sound was far more rooted in pop. A return to the moody R&B of his early work while still developing his newer sound would be a great look for the artist who recently proclaimed “last year I did all the politickin’ / this year imma focus on the vision“.