In 2023, the reality competition show Dream Academy documented the formation of the girl group Katseye and the intensive training process around it. One of the shows contestants was Adéla who’d moved to America from Slovakia to pursue a music career and was the first voted out of the competition. Yet this wasn’t a deterrent for Adéla who, after drawing large crowds at festivals this summer, is now releasing her debut album, Prima.
Prima’s opening track, "KGB", is one of its strongest offerings, serving as a strong thesis for Adéla as an artist. Its lyrics are over the top and tightly written, proclaiming “I’m like a spy, studied this shit, call me the K G Bitch” alongside details of her childhood in Slovakia. The production, done by 100 gecs’ Dylan Brady, is built around these harsh synths and reverberating vocals and allows the song to have a self-assuredness whilst also presenting further intrigue for Adéla as an artist.
It’s a balance that’s pulled off with ease and whilst there are moments where this reappears throughout the rest of the album, its never encapsulates the sensations in the same way. "Boys" a song about unwanted romantic attention on a night out has harsh synths that work well alongside a light, rolling bassline but the song feels too minimal to give off the energy of carelessness that its going for. In contrast, "Marijuana" has these electronic croons sat atop a stuttering drum track that really work to bring the track to life, even if lyrically it's repeating similar sentiments to other tracks. One of the album's mellower moments
"Hitachi", a piano ballad about how “you used wanna turn me on… like my Hitachi does” commits enough to the premise that it works. The desperation of trying to save this collapsing relationship is truly emphasised through the bridge built around soaring vocals and strings, elevating it past the potential gimmicky nature of the title.
Overall, Prima is a promising introduction to Adéla as an artist, showing her to be interestingly referential to her pop predecessors but still providing her with plenty of space to develop her own sound further into something that isn’t simply paying homage, as has shimmered throughout the album, but something that is entirely her own.
Below: Watch the video for "KGB" by Adéla
