Regard X Years & Years - Hallucination (extended Mix) Review

: Moving from being "foolish" enough to believe an ex to finally seeing through their "fake" intentions.

Written by of Years & Years , the song was born from his real-life experience when an ex-lover tried to re-enter his life in 2019. Alexander felt a confusing pull to rekindle the romance, but ultimately realized that the past was a distorted memory. He described the feeling as a "big illusion," questioning if any part of the original relationship had been real once the "dust settles". The Sound and Visual Concept Regard x Years & Years - Hallucination (Extended Mix)

: Critics have compared the video's minacious and futuristic art direction to the dark, tech-focused worlds of Black Mirror and Squid Game . Themes in the Lyrics : Moving from being "foolish" enough to believe

: Regard is portrayed as a "mysteriously sinister driving force" watching the competition from behind the scenes on television screens. He described the feeling as a "big illusion,"

Regard transformed the track into an 80s-inspired, disco-pop anthem, adding what Alexander called a "sexy trippy life" to the production.

: Realizing that while a former lover may "look like a vision," their presence is actually a "hallucination" intended to cause pain again.

The official music video, directed by , translates this emotional confusion into a dystopian "dance to the death":