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adira fifth of november is out now 🤍 thank u
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The Music Bulletin REVIEW: Adira's Fifth of November Tackles Relationships but Falls Short on Her Own Life by Regina Root ∙ July 14, 2019
Adira has faced a myriad of struggles—from the deaths of her mother, brother, and best friend, to the loss of her child—but her pains are lost in an album that falls flat at amounting to more than her failed relationships.
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In 2014, Adira solidified herself in the ever-changing pop scene with the release of her second album, to my one, whose vapid lyrics failed desperately at trying to be to more than they ever had to offer and now listen as a superficial detailing of a teenage girl's first love. "This album is for my special someone," she said at the time, on the heels of rumours swirling about her relationship with former One Direction member Zayn Malik.
It's a sentiment now filled with naivety, but she had no idea what life would have in store for her. Her brother, Aden Flynn, and her childhood best friend, Derek Furley, would take their own lives. Her mother, Julia Flynn, would lose her battle with lung cancer. Upon her arrest, the singer would gain a reputation for her bad-girl behaviour, eventually being admitted into rehab. At the end of it all, her multiple on-off stunts with Malik culminated in an engagement, but this happiness all came crashing down when Zayn was arrested for domestic violence at the beginning of 2018. Then, Malik and Adira's sister, Amala Flynn, sparked their own romance—a decision that strained the sisters relationship until Amala publicly accused Malik of being controlling and manipulative. Malik denied the accusations before embarking on his redemption tour, where he shockingly revealed Adira had lost their baby.
Adira seemed unwilling to give up, finding strength in her relationship with fellow pop superstar Justin Bieber—a relationship that has seemingly inspired her to find her voice and her herself throughout fifth of november. While her last project, the extended play thoughts, was a retelling of her teenage rebellion as she sang about sex, drugs, and losing herself to the highs of being one of the most famous teenagers on the planet, fifth of november is a transcendent story of letting someone go and learning to love again.
From its opening, fifth of november establishes itself as an album built on Adira's personal struggles. "You're gonna get what you're givin' to me," she repeats on the stripped back passion and pain taste the same when i'm weak. It seems to be missing something, especially in the context of the rest of the album, but it serves as a captivating and mood-setting opener as she makes clear her grievances against her ex-lover.
passion and pain taste the same when i'm weak is the introduction to the album's first theme: overcoming toxic relationships. Although the opener may establish her future want to avenge her ex-lover for hurting her, goodnight seems to take her to the past, with her mourning a dissolving relationship as she sings of wanting someone to say "goodnight" instead of "goodbye" so their time together doesn't end. It's lyricism and concept makes it a strong second track that leaves you almost wishing it was the first song you heard.
Adira makes it clear in the first few minutes of the album that the teen pop sound that defined the beginning of her career is gone. No songs stick out as filler; she is almost steadfast in baring her heart and hoping we follow her along the journey. perfect is a raw song that details her clawing desperation to be what her lover wants, a seeming reference to both Malik and Bieber's alleged infidelity. In needy, she expresses her want to be vulnerable and feel loved in her relationship, but it's a concept that grows boring and overdone by the time the song comes to a close. sour times is an affirmation of not allowing herself to be taken advantage of when she's emotionally vulnerable. "I don't know what song of mine you heard that made you think I'd want to spend the night with you," she sings, denying a hook-up amidst the downfall of her last relationship. how i look on you is a drastic shift from the dreamy tunes of the album's first four songs. It's the most on-trend pop song the album offers, but it's underlying theme emphasises Adira's questioning the intentions of her partner in the aftermath of their relationship.
souvenir is both an album highlight and a seeming turning point in the album as Adira transitions from sorrowful to reflective. "Calling your name, the only language I speak," she nostalgically sings of a thrilling encounter with her ex-lover. blue sees Adira announcing she's learned how to get out of a relationship that's clearly over. in my head has the first reference to people in her life besides the romantic. A voicemail from the deceased Furley opens the song before she delves into her realisation that she fell in love with someone due to perception rather than reality. It's the end of the chapter that sees her laying her past relationship to rest.
follow the white rabbit, the album's lead single and the most commercially successfully single of her career, is the beginning of her accepting love again. She expresses her sexual desire for someone new and wants him to be bold enough to make them more than friends. pretty boy is an alternative-inspired track, where she wishes to know more about someone she labels as the "pretty boy." Although the track is supported by Adira's breathy vocals and melancholic lyrics, the song seems to be missing more to make it more than a clichéd take on getting to know someone new. west side is the second part to the story of pretty boy as she sings about about falling in love. save us, the album's closer, sees her telling someone—maybe her sister, maybe Bieber, maybe her friends—that she'll always be there for them, no matter how out-of-control life gets. While it's a satisfying statement, the final episode of the album feels rushed and unfinished, but perhaps it's a testament to her own feelings: what she feels for her new lover is fresh and exciting, and their love story remains unfinished.
The 13-track album evidently finds its magic in its production. Standouts like in my head and follow the white rabbit craft an album that is unique in its delivery of Adira's hardest times, but fifth of november, for all its vulnerability, is not a perfect album by any means. For a woman that's been through so much, it leaves you almost wishing she'd addressed more on her first LP in more than five years, although the singer admitted in her interview with Fusion! she struggled to "put everything [she] felt for these special, special people into words" but found "peace knowing there's a little piece of them throughout the album." Moments of waning lyrics are covered with Flynn's signature vocal runs, like in how i look on you, which tries to be more than it's worth yet she still sings, "You can handle all this fame, can ya? Like me just the way I are." (Yes, the grammar is what kills me.)
No one can claim fifth of november to be a flawless album, but it marks Adira's most personal album to-date and a turning point in her artistry, proving her renewed sense of self and a determination to let love back into her life as she navigates the world with all eyes on her.
