Oakland-based singer-songwriter Naomi Neva channels childhood trauma and adult disillusionment into her blistering new alt-rock single “Burning” – a cathartic collision of personal and planetary grief. The track, self-produced in her home studio and mastered at Abbey Road, transforms memories of narrowly escaping neighborhood wildfires into a universal anthem for betrayed generations.
Built on a driving guitar hook and visceral lyrics, “Burning” pulses with the urgent energy of early 2000s indie rock, while Neva’s smoldering vocals – alternating between gritty defiance and folk-tinged vulnerability – recount her family’s near-miss with California flames. “I remember my dad nearly driving us into the fire,” she reveals, connecting childhood terror to present-day crises of medical struggles, broken trust, and environmental collapse.
The single marks an artistic evolution for Neva, whose previous releases (In Parking Lots, Still Singing for You) established her gift for introspective storytelling. Here, she turns her gaze outward, crafting what might be 2024’s most potent musical response to eco-anxiety – one that burns with rage yet refuses to surrender to despair.
A smoldering masterpiece that proves protest music still has teeth when it’s this raw and real. Naomi Neva isn’t just writing songs – she’s sounding an alarm.
