Caleb Hawley's indie soul/R&B journey has led him from Minneapolis to New York City, with a few stops along the way. After being featured on American Idol in 2011, he worked on a pair of EPs (Side 1 and Side 2), releasing them in 2014. This year, he's back with a new single and a full-length yet to come.

On his self-produced single "We All Got Problems," Hawley tackles prescription-drug culture with verses both candid and tongue-in-cheek. He references Elvis and Michael Jackson, two of the many legends who died untimely, drug-related deaths. He also shares his personal experiences with Tourette syndrome, depression, and the medicine that was supposed to fix it all. His press release notes, "The fact of the matter is we all got problems, and we're counting on our pharmacists to plug the holes of this sinking ship."

The song's topic may be enough to cause an existential quiver, but Hawley handles it with easy sway. Using a sample he recorded from a subway performance, he builds a catchy song with 808s, a one-man gospel choir, and ever-shifting, jangly percussion. "We All Got Problems" is less smoky than Rag'n'Bone Man's "Human," but it's born of the same stomping, gritty soulfulness.

On Friday, May 19, Hawley returns home to play the Triple Rock Social Club. His taste for quiet listening rooms has shifted into a love for full-band jamboree, and no show review on the web goes without mentioning his on-stage charisma. At the Triple Rock, he'll put that magnetism (plus "We All Got Problems") to good use.