Jordana
I’m Doing Well, Thanks for Asking
GRAND JURY
Maryland-raised singer-songwriter Jordana Nye’s music has matured a lot since her days as a DIY bedroom-pop artist. On her 2020 breakthrough Something to Say to You, she mixed Liz Phair–esque guitar with modern electro-pop, moving away from her lo-fi roots. Now, with her latest EP, she’s finding new ways to create catchy songs that encase her introspective, melancholic lyrics with ever-increasing elements of electro-pop.
Sardonically titled I’m Doing Well, Thanks for Asking, the EP moves away from the sound of her last project, the ’90s-sourced Face the Wall released earlier this year, and veers more toward modern pop as she sings about the complexities of being in a flailing relationship. It’s a solid EP, but one that occasionally falls short with songs like “You’re in the Way” and “Carry on Tonight” lacking the kinetic energy to deliver her lyrics in an impactful way.
“I’m too self-aware / Or maybe not enough,” she sings on the latter, which works as a sort of thesis for this whole EP. An interesting thought: Are we self-aware enough to know our part in a dysfunctional relationship? Or just maybe we like to think we do? Given the context of this song, it may be more about denying when relationships go badly and having a difficult time standing back without idealizing them.
Plenty of things work on this EP, from the theme to the lyrics to the production. “Is It Worth It Now” and “SYT”—songs that are neatly wrapped with a pop sheen—work best, as they showcase Jordana at her catchiest, angriest, and most authentic. In them, she disdainfully sings about not being valued in her relationship, which creates a pleasing tension between the song’s electro-pop exterior and brooding lyrical interior. In all, I’m Doing Well delivers interesting melodies and textures, and offers a glimpse of what kind of pop tunes may come next for her.
