Mike Posner did something novel with his latest album. He made a 37-minute record he wants you to listen to in one sitting, without interruption.

In a world where streaming is king, Posner seems crazy. I mean, who listens to music uninterrupted, without even sending a text? And most of the tracks off “A Real Good Kid” are not designed with commercial success in mind at all. The songs feature desperate screams, awkward silence and uneasy non-rhymes. Though Posner can write hits, he’s not trying for a Billboard No. 1 with this one at all—and that’s what makes it so good.

“A Real Good Kid” is a therapy session in an alt-pop package. It’s a meditation on grief, on heartbreak, on life. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and you’ll scream, and then you’ll do it all over again. It’s an emotional turmoil at times. But I promise you’ll walk away thinking: “In the end, it will all be OK.”

Posner wrote the album while grappling with the loss of his father to brain cancer and pal Avicii to an overdose. He includes clips of his dad speaking in several of the songs, with the final track, “How It’s Supposed to Be,” ending with an ‘80s clip from his childhood. I’ve heard this technique used before, but I’ve never felt so personally invested in an artist’s past than in listening to the Mike Posner Experience. It’s immersive in the best way possible.

While he was writing the album, Posner and his girlfriend broke up. (Watch the tear jerking “Move On” music video for the full life update.) He doesn’t deny that things have been really hard, despite the money and fame. And he addresses the difficulty of dealing with love and loss in a raw way. But throughout the sadness of his life, Posner celebrates what he had rather than meditate on what he’s lost.

For the unacquainted, Posner has been trying for a while to prove that he’s more than just “Cooler Than.” And he is. He’s a Duke University-educated wordsmith, with a love for his hometown of Detroit and a passion for poetry. He even has spoken word albums out. He’s not just a pop-star singing manufactured hits written by other people.

But even with his 2016 album “At Night, Alone.,” Posner failed to achieve the rawness he always desired. Take the big breakout hit, “I Took a Pill in Ibiza.” The electric-infused remix was a contender for song of the summer, but it didn’t feel half as raw as anything off of “A Real Good Kid”—despite telling a story of the emptiness that comes with fame.

By achieving conventional success, Posner’s in a position now where taking a risk isn’t as, well, risky. He may not be Drake or Taylor Swift, but he’s well-known; any album he released would probably do moderately well. Still, he’s ditched all the polish that superstardom demands. Once a platinum-dipped hypebeast, Posner’s now grown a big, bushy beard and is going on a walk across the U.S.

He’s more unapologetically him than he’s ever been able to be, and it’s pretty great. Oh, and, he may have made the best album of 2019, so far. It’s hard for music to move people—this moves and teaches and inspires.

Set the 37 minutes aside. I promise, they’re worth it.