Ava Valianti – Running On Empty (2025)
Skipping through fields of pop from indie-pop to folk-pop, and even a dash of indie-folk while we’re at it, singer-songwriter Ava Valianti assembles a bright sonic bouquet bursting with freshness and raw intimacy. Hailing from Massachusetts, the US-based musician may be only a teenager but her songs draw on sophistication and lyrical depth that reaches far beyond her years with its timeless, universal, ageless themes. Our introduction to Valianti was with her 2024 single, ‘January’. Today, we take a look and listen at one of the most recent additions to her discography, ‘Running On Empty’.
Taken from her debut EP, petunias – an album capturing the fragility, beauty and resilience of youth – ‘Running On Empty’ is a song of introspection and connection. Touching on the complexities of relationships, Valianti asks and answers the profound question of being, remaining, and then leaving another individual’s life. She explains:
“… I literally wrote it in a hotel room in the middle of the night after my first back-to-back live gigs in New York City. It came from this feeling that people don’t always leave in one big moment, they fade out in little ways until one day you realise they’re gone. That shift, from love to memory to almost nothing, is so heartbreaking and confusing. Writing the song helped me process that hollow space and how it changes who we are when the people we counted on aren’t there anymore.”
Existing within a simplistic soundscape, ‘Running On Empty’ opens with a combination of acoustic guitar and Valianti’s rich vocals. Barebones and stark, the melody captures the poignancy of this intimate melody; however, as the song progresses, the instrumentation builds adding fullness to the simple track giving it a weightier folk-pop feel. By the end, you have haunting strings and light percussion flooding your ears with Valianti’s delicate vocals dancing atop the track. I find this particularly interesting as, not only does it showcase the innovative composition, it cleverly collects how the loss of friendship might be difficult but can lead to introspective clarity and self-discovery.
In addition to the single, Ava Valianti released an official lyric video for ‘Running On Empty’. You can view the video below and/or on her YouTube channel.
Find out more about Ava Valianti on her official website, Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Bandcamp and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
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