Each Measure Feature: Anna Thoresen

FEATURE

“Lonely,” the new single by Anna Thoresen, is a disorienting rock tune about the torment of solitude. The track opens on the distant sound of an unidentified voice declaring utopia. Before he can finish the thought, the voice falters, the instrumental kicks into full swing, and Thoresen begins to sing.

“I haven’t been touched in so long/ I forgot how it feels,” she croons. “I haven’t sung my favorite songs/ Don’t have the same appeal.” The vocals echo heavily. The drums press relentlessly onward in a painfully simple rhythm. Every piece of the instrumental blurs together so we can’t pick out one distorted guitar track from the next. Thoresen’s voice oozes rasp and wells with dynamic intensity, leaving an impression of desperation descending into numbness.

Penned in her own Los Angeles bedroom, “Lonely” is the story of Thoresen’s experience moving to the City of Angels only to encounter bitter isolation and a loss of identity. The track is a testament to Thoresen’s talent—she wrote, recorded, mixed, and mastered the entire song herself. She cites legendary rockers as her major inspirations: Janis Joplin, Stevie Nicks, and— quite evident in this single—Joan Jett.

With “Lonely,” Thoresen has wrenched the 80s straight into 2025.

The track captures the experience of being lost in the haze of rock bottom, devoid of any sense of time. Finishing the song off with an electric guitar solo that never quite breaks through the surface of the mix, Thoresen leaves the listener longing for an emotional release that doesn’t come. This is a song that begs to be played on repeat.

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