Naomi Neva Faces the Flames in Alt-Rock Anthem Burning

Naomi Neva – Burning: There’s something primal about fire. First it takes, then it strips you clean, and finally – keeps you awake at night. Naomi Neva takes it further – it sings.

Burning is the latest alt-rock offering from the Oakland-based artist, and it slips in from the edges and stares until you listen. Honestly, the first time I heard it, I felt everything. Grief, betrayal, fear, and that quiet fury that simmers just beneath the ribcage when the world seems to be going up in smoke. Because sometimes, it actually is.

This is what happens when memory burns and someone dares to sing through the smoke. Naomi’s voice, sharp and fragile like a cracked mirror, guides us through a personal hellscape. Oh yeah, one layered with environmental dread and the smouldering edges of human connection gone cold.

WILDFIRES, WOUNDS, AND WHATEVER’S LEFT STANDING

Let’s talk origin stories – not the cape-and-tights kind, but the kind that leave soot on your shoes and trauma in your lungs.

Naomi remembers evacuating her childhood neighbourhood when it burned to the ground. And that’s not metaphor, that’s reality. Her father took a shortcut that nearly ended in flames. Years later, in a fog of wildfire smoke and personal crisis, the past returned. Not politely knocking, but kicking in the door. A broken friendship. A body in medical freefall. And the growing sense that everything we rely on – our systems, our people, our own damn lungs – is failing us.

From this crucible, Burning emerged. The track opens like a wound: guitars jagged as scorched tree bark, lyrics stripped down to the nerve. Naomi Neva takes pain apart and leaves it exposed, piece by piece. Somewhere between “take my temperature“, “take my love“,  “I’m so much more than bluff” and that repetitive burn-burn-burn refrain, I feel like she’s not asking for understanding. She’s building a pyre out of what used to be trust, and lighting it herself.

READ MORE: ROCK STORIES CARVED IN DISTORTION AND HEART

NAOMI NEVA – BURNING: RAW STUDIO, REAL SMOKE

Naomi recorded the track at her home studio. Nothing added to soften the blow – just the truth, straight up. Just the hum of a computer, a guitar that knows how to snarl, and a voice that’s had enough. Final touches were made at Abbey Road, which is a bit like writing your breakup letter on hotel stationery and then having it hand-delivered by Shakespeare. There’s grit, but also elegance. And that balance? That’s what makes Naomi Neva a standout in a sea of digital gloss.

For someone who fronted a punk band in high school, disappeared from music for years, and then came back swinging in 2023, she sounds like someone who’s never stopped writing – even if she did stop sharing. And maybe that’s the real power of Burning. Feels like confrontation – that might be the whole point. One that’s long overdue.

A FEW THINGS I CAN’T PRETEND TO IGNORE

I’m listening to this song with the windows cracked, and it’s raining outside – which feels ironic, given the title. But the burn here is pure emotional combustion. It’s trying to rebuild while the ground still smokes.

Naomi Neva Burning keeps it real, without the showroom shine or emotional theatrics. Just truth – messy, uncomfortable, fierce. And if you’ve ever lost anything to flame – for real or metaphorical – this is not made to comfort, but you’ll come back to it anyway.

I’ve heard too many “emotional” tracks that feel like algorithm-friendly diary entries. But this one was written with a lighter in one hand and a fist in the other.

“Burning” is available now on all major streaming platforms.
Naomi Neva’s full discography and updates live at naomineva.com.