Dropping on Valentine’s Day, Joanna Adamiak’s latest single, titled ‘Never Ready for Love’, is a breezy listen that’s full of nuance and soul. Loaded with a certain dynamic and identity that we’ll discuss, it suffices to say that ‘Never Ready for Love’ is as grabbing and as momentous as some of the best indie pop that I’ve heard for a very long time.
Warsaw based artist Joanna Adamiak is a singer and songwriter whose soulful indie pop is airy, granular, sweetly perfumed, and on ‘Never Ready for Love’, melancholic. While Adamiak herself states that the song is overall positive, and with the lyrics handling that sensation of falling for somebody new, dealing with one’s insecurities during that phase, and that dangerous hope that this time might really be the one, it is easy to see why the song’s feel is as conflicting as the emotions it discusses. For some, this phase is one of opening up, embracing this hope, and jumping headfirst into the relationship, while for others, it is one of doubt, uncertainty, and fear.
Adamiak carefully navigates through these conflicting narratives, not with just the lyrics, but with the open-ended instrumental and melodies that fly like strands of confetti. Modal, the melodies are musically nuanced, but easily manageable. Moreover, while the melancholy can be taken away from the lyrics if you belong to the first group of people that we discussed, it is not as easily taken away from the song’s blend of slow tempo, syrupy synths, and sad chord sequences.
With a sparse arrangement that’s mostly revolving around airy pads, Adamiak’s Bjork-like, floating performance takes an effortless center stage. With its liquid rhythm and mostly rhyme-free lyrics, the engaging vocal performance is an element that makes the song immediately grabbing. This arresting release from Joanna Adamiak is deceptively simple, and wholly good.