# On Wires
"On Wires" is a song by the Canadian singer-songwriter [Carly Rae Jepsen](https://www.edgepedia.org/carly-rae-jepsen), released on June 26, 2026 as the lead single from her eighth studio album, the 24-track double album *[Day and Night](https://www.edgepedia.org/day-and-night-carly-rae-jepsen-album)*[1](https://stereogum.com/2503382/carly-rae-jepsen-on-wires/music) • [2](https://carlyraejepsen.wiki.gg/wiki/On_Wires). It appears as the fourth track on the album's Day disc and was released on [Interscope Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/interscope-records) and School Boy Records[3](https://musicbrainz.org/release/aacc1ab1-4b99-4e66-beb7-c13c0884a158). The song marks a stylistic departure for Jepsen, moving from the synth-driven dance pop of her 2010s records toward live instrumentation and 1970s-inspired psychedelic pop[1](https://stereogum.com/2503382/carly-rae-jepsen-on-wires/music).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist | Carly Rae Jepsen, Canadian singer-songwriter[2](https://carlyraejepsen.wiki.gg/wiki/On_Wires) |
| Release | June 26, 2026; lead single from *Day and Night*, released September 18 via Interscope Records[1](https://stereogum.com/2503382/carly-rae-jepsen-on-wires/music) • [4](https://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=356811) |
| Position | Track 4 on the Day side of *Day and Night*[2](https://carlyraejepsen.wiki.gg/wiki/On_Wires) |
| Length | 3:23[3](https://musicbrainz.org/release/aacc1ab1-4b99-4e66-beb7-c13c0884a158) |
| Writers / producer | Written by Jepsen, Kyle Shearer, and Nate Cyphert; produced by Kyle Shearer, with additional production by Robert Marvin[2](https://carlyraejepsen.wiki.gg/wiki/On_Wires) |
| Style | Neo-psychedelic pop-rock with elements of shoegaze; piano-led verses building into a chorus with blasts of guitar distortion[2](https://carlyraejepsen.wiki.gg/wiki/On_Wires) • [5](https://exclaim.ca/music/article/carly-rae-jepson-on-wires-song-review) |
| Mixing | Manny Marroquin, with assistant engineers Ramiro Fernandez-Seoane and Francesco Di Giovanni[2](https://carlyraejepsen.wiki.gg/wiki/On_Wires) |
## Composition and sound
**The song.** "On Wires" is described as a neo-psychedelic pop-rock song with elements of shoegaze, built on atmospheric production, warm reverb, and live instrumentation: piano chords, drums, and guitars that build into an explosive chorus[2](https://carlyraejepsen.wiki.gg/wiki/On_Wires). Jepsen described it as being about "wanting someone so badly you can barely get through the motions of a night out"[2](https://carlyraejepsen.wiki.gg/wiki/On_Wires). Stereogum's Chris DeVille noted the lush, piano-led arrangement that feels like a live band, quoting the central line "I want to be more than friends for the week" and the briefly explosive "I want you"[1](https://stereogum.com/2503382/carly-rae-jepsen-on-wires/music).
**Instruments and personnel.** Kyle Shearer played guitar, synthesizer, bass, and keyboards; Caleb Crosby played drums and percussion; Nami handled programming[2](https://carlyraejepsen.wiki.gg/wiki/On_Wires). Nate Cyphert contributed background vocals alongside Jepsen[2](https://carlyraejepsen.wiki.gg/wiki/On_Wires).
Critics heard a deliberate collision of styles. Exclaim!'s Alex Hudson wrote that the track is "a bold collision of sounds, jazzy piano meeting dubby triplets amidst a curious sampled chant," with Jepsen's voice rising through heavy reverb on the chorus[5](https://exclaim.ca/music/article/carly-rae-jepson-on-wires-song-review). The album review in the same publication connected the rollicking piano sample to Jepsen's jazz roots[6](https://exclaim.ca/music/article/carly-rae-jepsen-day-and-night-album-review).
## The album context
"On Wires" opens the campaign for *Day and Night*, a double album conceived around a 24-hour cycle: 12 daytime songs described as "organic and raw, with live instrumentation and hints of '70s-inspired psychedelic pop," and 12 nighttime songs that shift into "a sleek, synth-driven world of dance-pop"[1](https://stereogum.com/2503382/carly-rae-jepsen-on-wires/music). The song sits on the Day side, which Exclaim! noted fits imperfectly, since the track feels mysterious and more like the nighttime material[5](https://exclaim.ca/music/article/carly-rae-jepson-on-wires-song-review). The record also reflects Jepsen's personal life: Pitchfork reported that while making it she fell in love with, and married, the producer Cole M.G.N., and was pregnant by the time it was mixed[7](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/carly-rae-jepsen-day-and-night/). She had released *The Loneliest Time* in 2022 and *The Loveliest Time* in 2023 before this project[7](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/carly-rae-jepsen-day-and-night/).
## Music video
The music video, directed by Caio Vieira, stages a tug-of-war between Jepsen and a microphone cable[8](https://pitchfork.com/news/carly-rae-jepsen-on-wires-song-day-and-night/). Jepsen told NME that she had originally pictured chasing a man through the streets of New York, but that idea changed once she was six months pregnant: her creative directors proposed the cable concept, and the image grew into a metaphor for carving out space for her personal life within the business of music while pregnant[8](https://pitchfork.com/news/carly-rae-jepsen-on-wires-song-day-and-night/). The video was filmed in December 2025, at six months of pregnancy[2](https://carlyraejepsen.wiki.gg/wiki/On_Wires).
## Reception
Reception was divided. Exclaim! made the song a Staff Pick on release day[5](https://exclaim.ca/music/article/carly-rae-jepson-on-wires-song-review), and user scores on Album of the Year were high, at 91 based on 1,126 ratings[9](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/song/1347927-on-wires/11/). Reviewers who weighed the track as a single on its own were cooler. The Singles Jukebox panel averaged 6.09, with Dave Moore finding it awkward as a standalone single and sounding more like an album coda, and other panelists faulting the torch-song production, including a piano line that one critic felt sabotaged the concluding refrain[10](https://thesinglesjukebox.com/carly-rae-jepsen-on-wires/).
## References
1. [Chris DeVille (June 26, 2026). Carly Rae Jepsen – "On Wires". Stereogum.](https://stereogum.com/2503382/carly-rae-jepsen-on-wires/music)
2. [On Wires – Carly Rae Jepsen Wiki](https://carlyraejepsen.wiki.gg/wiki/On_Wires)
3. [Release "On Wires" by Carly Rae Jepsen, MusicBrainz](https://musicbrainz.org/release/aacc1ab1-4b99-4e66-beb7-c13c0884a158)
4. [Carly Rae Jepsen Shares New Single and Video "On Wires", WebWire (June 26, 2026)](https://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=356811)
5. [Alex Hudson (June 26, 2026). Carly Rae Jepsen Ascends with the Heavenly "On Wires". Exclaim!](https://exclaim.ca/music/article/carly-rae-jepson-on-wires-song-review)
6. [Megan LaPierre (September 17, 2026). Carly Rae Jepsen's 'Day and Night' Is an Afternoon Delight. Exclaim!](https://exclaim.ca/music/article/carly-rae-jepsen-day-and-night-album-review)
7. [Marissa Lorusso (September 2026). Carly Rae Jepsen: Day and Night Album Review. Pitchfork.](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/carly-rae-jepsen-day-and-night/)
8. [Alex Suskind (June 26, 2026). Carly Rae Jepsen Wants to Be More Than Friends on New Song "On Wires". Pitchfork.](https://pitchfork.com/news/carly-rae-jepsen-on-wires-song-day-and-night/)
9. [On Wires – Carly Rae Jepsen, Song Ratings, Album of The Year](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/song/1347927-on-wires/11/)
10. [Carly Rae Jepsen – On Wires, The Singles Jukebox (July 10, 2026)](https://thesinglesjukebox.com/carly-rae-jepsen-on-wires/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Compositions and songs › Pop, rock, and metal songs › Pop songs › Pop songs of the 2020s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license