Dutch twin duo LÖNA return with an anthem for the emotionally exhausted on “I Never Wanna Be In Love,” a searing alt-pop banger that captures the heartbreak of almost-love in a tidal wave of synths, sweat, and sorrow. Built for the moment the strobe lights blur your tears, it’s a track that cements LÖNA’s growing reputation for fusing vulnerability with punchy, club-ready production.
Opening with cold synth stabs and a pulsing four-on-the-floor beat, “I Never Wanna Be In Love” wastes no time plunging listeners into the ache of romantic limbo. Danielle’s production, gritty, sparse, and textured, lays the groundwork for lyrics that cut with surgical precision, delivered in hushed, heartbroken tones. When the chorus hits, it’s euphoric in its catharsis: a cry for freedom masquerading as a dance track.
“I bit my tongue till I tasted blood / I don’t want to be loved,” they confess, a standout line that punches like a gut-check and lingers like perfume on a borrowed hoodie. It’s a moment that encapsulates the entire track: intense, conflicted, and unforgettable.
Co-produced by Mischa Dirksen, the song draws sonic inspiration from the likes of Robyn, Lorde, and Tove Lo, but LÖNA’s edge comes from their own lived emotional truths. The bridge, particularly, builds with sharp-edged synths and frantic tension, mimicking the push-pull of wanting closeness while bracing for heartbreak. The sound is big, bold, and meticulously messy, just like the emotions they’re describing.
This isn’t the first time LÖNA have leaned into contradiction, they proudly make “dark music for happy people,” and this track might be their most perfect example yet. Their music lives in the emotional grey areas, embracing the fact that joy and despair can occupy the same space and often do. “I Never Wanna Be In Love” isn’t an anti-love song; it’s a mourning of what could’ve been, and a reclamation of power in its absence.
With “I Never Wanna Be In Love,” LÖNA have crafted a late-night anthem for every heart that’s almost healed. Dance to it. Cry to it. Either way, you’ll feel seen.
