With the songs “hurt” and “damn” already out, we know that the forthcoming album from Canadian songwriter Ada Lea is going to be a tender one – and today she delivers “partner”, which might be the most piercing yet. It also serves as something of a sequel to “damn”, as she explains:
“[It’s] a song about moving through a memory… an involuntary memory that steals up on you the night after a rager (which takes place the morning after the song ‘damn’).”
Indeed, we’re taken right into that sore-headed morning after as she sings the opening lines “still reeling from last night’s activities / too many friends, too much wine.” With gentle but booming drums under her aqueous guitar, we roll slowly alongside her in a taxi stuck in traffic. Her mind can’t help but recede to the events of the night before, where her eyes were magnetised to a particular person who was dancing so beautifully; “you’re the last person I thought i’d see at this party, here tonight.” She soon exits the cab, but strolls through more memories, keeping us in step beside her as she remembers emotional breakdowns and recalls the confusion about the feelings they shared; “was I only a friend? that’s who I am that’s who I am.” As “partner” swings to its tender hook, “she’s a dancer with no partner / that’s what they call her,” it could be Ada Lea talking about this person, or perhaps herself, but either way its tearfully poignant.
Watch the video for “partner”, directed by Erica Orofino below.
Ada Lea’s new album one hand on the steering wheel the other sewing a garden comes out on September 24 through Saddle Creek (pre-order/save). You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
