“I can resist everything except temptation,” Oscar Wilde used to say, and honestly, for some reason, this phrase was spinning in my head the entire time I was listening to THERA’s new single “heartless romance.” Because, in my view, the song lays out a theme about the fragile boundary where “I want” ends and “I ought to” begins. It is entirely about relationships you can’t seem to walk away from, even when you realize perfectly well that you are only remembered when there is no one else to call.
It’s interesting to watch THERA’s development: the artist is right on the verge of making an important mental and creative leap. Having gone all the way from the viral triumph of “guardian angel” and a billboard in Times Square to the heavy conditioning on arena stages touring with Jason Derulo (which her live EP “everywhere, all at once” honestly and rawly reminded us of), the Czech pop singer approaches her second album renewed. Previously, her sincerity manifested through fragile melancholy, but in “heartless romance,” that same emotionality gains muscle, character, and a bold gloss.
The single comes out on September 18-the first harbinger of her second album. It is darker and more confident than anything she has done before. At its core is a hypnotic, gliding synth and beats with a clear hip-hop flavor. Atmospheric keys first keep the track in tension, and then release into a chorus that is hard to shake off. Jakke Erixson was in charge of production, and his signature is recognizable here: the song is built as a slow build-up rather than a quick release of energy.
The main magic of the single lies in the vocal delivery. THERA’s voice plays with the finest nuance of vulnerability and cold control. She sings about a painfully familiar story: situations where you are desperately wanted, but people aren’t ready to choose you; calls born of loneliness, and emotional rollercoasters that are hard to jump off. The singer transforms this pain into movement. Yet beneath the danceable shell lies a rather mature conversation about desire that receives no mutual commitment, and about how humiliatingly long one can convince oneself that “it’s too early for now” will eventually turn into a “yes.”
In “heartless romance,” I heard a natural continuation of the boldness THERA was testing at concerts through her cover of Charli XCX’s “Break the Rules.” This is dark, sensual, uncompromising pop of the highest caliber. It sounds natural both in late-night headphones and in the center of a dance floor packed with club smoke. I think her new album promises to be one of the brightest and most compelling pop statements of the season.
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