Premiere: Kathryn Colina weeps for estranged friend with new song, ‘Love Affair’

Addiction is the body’s way of coping with demons. It can take many forms, from alcohol, cigarettes, and various opioids – the latest statistics claim 130 people in the United States overdose on opioids every single day. Long before an addiction’s hold snuffs out a once-vibrant life, there are very clear signs someone is struggling. Often, an addict, who feels no one understands them or no longer cares, pulls away, hides within themselves, and further feeds their addiction. Country singer-songwriter Kathryn Colina weeps for an estranged friend, whose own downward spiral birthed total detachment and an all-consuming catatonic state. With “Love Affair,” premiering today, Colina brandishes sorrow and fear with an incisive lyric that slices to the bone.

“When did you become so old? Another year soaks in like smoke,” she heaves, only an acoustic guitar wringing its weepy chords beneath her. The song later opens up, a brook-like trickle pushing the narrative forward, and Colina’s voice is unwavering, a teary emotion lacing the fringes. “Since you burn all your bridges down, no one watches you burn out,” her ache grows swollen and red, as feelings of exasperation and confusion and devastation inform her every vocal move. “All the people who once knew you only know you disappear / But you’re somewhere choking like a loner on this love affair,” she sings. She swings right back just in time for a gut-punching, albeit infectious, hook.

“Love Affair” doesn’t mince its message or intent. It’s imposing and undeniable. “[This song] plays with the idea that our vices and addictions can pull us away from our personal relationships to the point where we choose to love loneliness over human connection. I wrote this song after watching a friend pull away from everyone,” the Nashville starlet writes to B-Sides & Badlands over email. “I knew he was going through a rough time and watched as cigarettes slowly became his only companion. My favorite line in this song has to be: ‘All the company you keep fits in your fingertips.’ He was this ‘yellow-handed ghost’ whom I had known years prior. This song was difficult for me to write because I didn’t want to feel judgmental… it wasn’t until a few years later when I was battling my own struggles with drug dependency and addiction that I began to connect to the song on a deeper level.”

“Love Affair” samples Colina’s new EP, Recovery, out this Friday (January 17). Following a near-death car crash, Colina was temporarily wheelchair bound – and was faced with addiction to pain killers and her own struggle with PTSD. The six-song release handles her own journey with keen songwriting, and the music quickly gave her enough healing power to wash her misery and pain right down the drain. She’ll never forget, it’s now an essential part of her story, but she’s now capable of moving to what’s next.

Listen below:

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