Melbourne’s rising star Lana Karlay steps boldly into the spotlight with “Don’t Let Me Go,” her newest single released November 19. At just seventeen, the multi-instrumentalist is already carving out a space where contemporary pop and rock meet emotional candor, drawing on the spirit of Blondie and Olivia Rodrigo while forging a sound that feels unmistakably her own. Recorded with a live band at GoldDiggers Sound Studio in Los Angeles and lifted by a string quartet captured at the legendary EastWest Studios, the track arrives pulsating with Karlay’s fast-maturing artistic voice.
The song eases in with an immersive soundscape and thumps tensing up the emotional stakes before a single word is sung. Lana’s husky tone enters introspectively, steady but fragile, as she lays the foundation for the unraveling dynamic. She sings, “You still smile but it don’t reach your eyes, I still try but it don’t feel right / I see storms in the back of your stare.” She sings like she is bracing for something to break, while pulled down by compassion for a miserable loved one.
As the music swells, so does she. The beat tightens, guitars shimmer, and the strings rise like a tide under her voice, giving her plea a cinematic weight. When she reaches the chorus, lifting her voice in a surge of fear, longing, and desperation, the track hits its emotional apex. You can hear her unravel in real time, the don’t let me go refrain blooming into agony, pain, and suffering that comes from watching someone drift away while you’re still holding on for dear life.
By the end, “Don’t Let Me Go” stands as Lana Karlay’s most gripping moment yet, as a bittersweet storm of heartbreak brought to us as she lives the emotion she sings of.
Listen to this heartbreaking masterpiece on Spotify.
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Review by: Naomi Joan