Maryland-based pop singer-songwriter Jordyn Tareaz released her highly anticipated second single, “Can’t Talk,” on September 23. Written in the aftermath of a breakup, the upbeat anthem empowers audiences to create boundaries around anything that does not serve them.
Featuring Tareaz’s signature powerhouse vocals against a piano-driven composition, the track showcases the 21-year-old rising talent’s ability to create a hit song. “Can’t Talk” was co-written with Lexi “Riese” Riesenberg (She Is Jules) and produced by Kevin Cho, Tareaz’s childhood friend.
“I’m a very independent person, and I’m not afraid to walk away when things aren’t right,” Tareaz shared when discussing her inspiration for the song. “But that doesn’t mean every goodbye comes easily. With each element of the song, we worked to sonically reflect the ups, downs, and tumultuous journey of finding closure.”
The verses of “Can’t Talk” read like pages from Tareaz’s journal, giving audiences a glimpse of her gradual awakening to the one-sided nature of the relationship. “Do you remember when I dropped everything to see you? / Cause in the moment, I thought you would do the same, too,” she asks.
Tareaz makes it clear, however, that “Can’t Talk” is not a sob-laden, binge-eating meltdown. Confidence and a strong sense of self-worth anchor the song, which shifts the painful energy of a broken relationship into a freeing experience of closure and new beginnings. Fans of Sara Bareilles will identify with Jordyn Tareaz’s polished songwriting and distinct mainstream appeal.
“And even though I wanna call you, I can’t talk anymore / It’s not worth the pain or the stress, but you make it easy to forget / If I let you in my life again, it’s only gonna hurt when it ends / So I can’t talk,” Tareaz declares in the soaring chorus.
Despite the mixed emotions that inevitably cloud the unraveling of a relationship, Jordyn Tareaz’s outlook has never been clearer. Not only is she stronger because of the experience, she is better off without her ex, and she knows it.
“Can’t Talk” follows Tareaz’s debut single, “So Good (On My Own),” and rousing performance earlier this year at Songbyrd Music House in Washington, D.C., where she opened for Maude Latour.
Tareaz, who is currently a senior in The Bandier Program at Syracuse University, has attracted the attention of industry heavyweights, including Warner Music Group, Billboard Magazine, and EqualizeHer, an advocacy collective founded by Linda Perry to achieve equal representation for women in the music industry, and she’s just getting started.
Check out “Can’t Talk” below, and find more great music on the Alchemical Records Multigenre Mixture playlist on Spotify.
Cynthia Gross is a freelance writer and award-winning spiritual pop artist based in Maryland. With more than a decade of experience as an executive ghostwriter, she understands the power of each individual’s voice to create positive, meaningful change.
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