PREMIERE: Riah Debuts Music Video for “can’t lose you now”

 

☆ BY Aleah Antonio ☆

Photos By Abigail Reid

 
 

BLINK AND YOU’LL MISS HER –  pop singer-songwriter Riah returns with her newest single, “can’t lose you now.” 

Riah conjures an atmospheric electro-pop adjacent to Anna of the North with the tenderheartedness of Gracie Abrams. Born Mariah McManus (now McManus Goss, following her marriage of LANY’s Jake Goss) in Whittier, CA, she’s released music under Riah since 2016. The musician has already worked with the likes of Shallou and Le Youth, all while remaining an unsigned and independent artist.

“can’t lose you now” is about “that feeling you get when you’re scared to lose what you have so you hold on way too tight,” Riah says in a press release. The music video, directed by David OD (COIN, Sasha Alex Sloan), is shot grainy with vignettes, a dizzying magical realism about a love so strong it scares you. Riah stands while objects float around her, her houseplants and vases slowly lifting, autumn leaves surrounding her like glitter in a snowglobe. Supercuts of her surroundings- telephone poles, houses, sidewalks- turn upside down in a haze, everything temporal as she begs for stability. The music video serves as a visualization of her lyrics: “I wonder what it’s like / to really sleep at night… I wonder what it’s like / to really lose your mind.”

This single is her first follow-up to her debut EP, Heartbreak Magic (2019). Bringing on longtime collaborator Chad Copelin (Sufjan Stevens, BRONCHO) back for “can’t lose you now,” the song is more wistful than the June-drenched songs off of Heartbreak Magic, yet still has the same softness and is complemented by Riah’s glowing voice. The single, like her other songs, breathes life to the inner conversations of a mind in love. The accessibility of her pop formula is awash with a certain charm and talent that perks our ears up and separates her from the noise.

Watch Riah’s video for “can’t lose you now” below.

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