RADIX

1. Keep Me Guessing

Radix starts with the catchy tune Keep Me Guessing, which tells a straightforward and captivating story of the sizzling excitement of a new romance, the back and forth, to and fro: «Drop the act and show me your cards. Put my heart on a plate for you, come and take it.» Despite the playful, flying vibe, the fatigue of eternal games and increased insecurities can be felt, culminating in the desire for commitment and stability.

2. You

While analog synthesizers and raw drum sounds create a cloud drenched in lightness and playfulness, Kim sings about the disheartening limbo of a hopeless romance. Feelings that should not be and yet never seem to lose their magic and bittersweet flavor of destiny. «Could you please get out of my head right now? You were there for way too long and it‘s pulling me down. Oh you… It’s always been you.»

3. Reminiscing

«Being back here got me reminiscing, got me thinking about what could have been if our egos didn’t have to play the leading roles. Jaded hearts are second parts.» In third position, the trio chooses electronic colors and driving beats losing themselves as they float in nostalgia-soaked reveries. While the song devotes three minutes to the unspeakable «What if?», WE ARE AVA ventures on a little excursion into the gardens of other genres without neglecting their own flowers.

4. High

The first quieter facets follow with the heartbreakingly moving song High, which unfolds its comforting powers despite its devastating essence: «Let’s stay high. Put off goodbye. Just for tonight we skip all the fights. Can we pretend we’re good enough? No weight holding us down. Let’s stay high.» With lulling melancholy, the approaching end of a relationship and the delaying of the inevitable are spread out on a dreamy carpet of sound.

5. Not Another Valentine

In Not Another Valentine, the frustration of repeatedly losing friends because of their emerging romantic feelings is dressed in a guise of a light, folky pop prank. «Wanted more than I could ever give you. Minus a friend, hello dead-end. Told you not to cross the line. Oh, oh, don’t look at me this way.» While musically sadder notes play a game with carefree, flying passages, the turmoil of the perhaps impossible assignment of guilt is also lyrically discussed.

6. Happy

The second half of the album, or the B-side of the record, kicks off with the pre-released single Happy, which became the band’s most-streamed song in the summer of 2022 and achieved numerous airplays and playlist placements (Spotify NMF DE, CH, AT, Pop Brandneu, Fresh Finds GSA, Equal GSA, Apple New Music Daily, and many more). «I just wanna be happy, baby, believe me. I just wanna feel magic, in me, so easy.» The song addresses callousness, emotional negative spirals, commitment anxiety, and the desire to just let it all go.

7. Drifting

From the very first second, Drifting is convincing with its high tempo, driving beat and the contrasting, almost floating vocals. «I am drifting high up here waiting for my dreams to catch me.» Captivating and infectious, WE ARE AVA strikes a balance between indie-surfer flair and an almost apathetic heaviness to get to the heart of a thoroughly familiar mid-twenties theme.

8. Unstable

In the next song, the energy is not diminished with Unstable, and the struggle with insecurities and lack of self-worth is pointedly soundtracked in a deceptively relaxed costume. «All I want is to feel good ‘bout something, ‘bout me. I feel so unstable, I feel so delirious.» Disguised behind a cozy beach song, Kim shows herself honest and raw as hardly ever before.

9.  Ocean

Only shortly before the end, the bittersweet ballad Ocean breathes some calm into the musical ride. While singing about the healing, perspective-creating effect of the sea and the conclusion of a relationship driven to the wall, the band succeeds in an even warmer, more comforting world. «So, every time that I need closure I know I need to find my way back to the sea.»

10. I Don’t Get It

To close the circle, the gloomy I Don’t Get It creates a special magic or even slight unease with the discrepancy of funky bass, raw drums, pushing piano patterns and the opposing, almost fairytale-like vocals. At its heart lies the lack of understanding the concept of love and relationships, as well as the belief that distancing from it is the only solution. «I don’t get why you would want that, two birds in one hand. Love me second, no, I don’t get that.»

11. You & Happy (October Session)

To complement the album, the live versions of You and Happy also find their place on Radix in the form of the October Session. As the AVAs are great lovers of extended live versions, their videographic capture and the appropriate visual backdrop of LED walls, they decided to bring all this together. Long dreamed of, two videos were then released in October 2023, the audio of which is now also being immortalized on vinyl. You can find the videos here.