REVIEW: Maria Lane Finds Clarity on “i don’t want another man”
WRITTEN BY OSCAR ORTEGA
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There’s a break halfway through Maria Lane’s newest single “i don’t want another man” where the track halts its momentum. The acoustic guitars that drive its front half dissipate into a spacious echo, open and disquiet, leaving Lane alone in a vast ocean of emotions. ‘There’s other fish in the sea/but what if you’re the only one for me?’ she laments with such dejection that it leaves one in a similar state of emotional disarray. However, it’s in this lonely subaqueous cavern of emotions where Lane’s voice shines with immense potency, holding our attention until the track opens up as though gasping for air.
Following her single “6 feet deep” released earlier this year, the Brooklyn singer-songwriter finds herself adrift in a sea of nostalgia and acceptance. She describes a situation all too familiar: that sick realization when love isn’t enough to keep someone around. Lane prefers to explain this with subtle, sparse pianos that evoke a sense of longing and distance. Or take the droning synths and electronic warbles buried underneath, whose tranquil reverberations draw visual comparisons to sunlight reaching the darkest depths of the ocean.
“i don’t want another man” lends itself to the imagination so easily because of the space it occupies. The details are left purposefully vague—the airy and reverberant instrumentation blends together and transforms the track’s hazy wall of sound into a lucid daydream. The heaviness of Lane’s vocals provides the emotional anchor, guiding us through this mysterious auditory vignette of regret and acceptance.
On “i don’t want another man,” Maria Lane situates us in an ambient pop landscape while retaining the singer-songwriter roots she’s come to define herself by. It’s equally serene, lonely, and beautiful.