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John Adams has a way of taking honesty and making it a melody, and on his latest track, “Loving You (Is A Reflex),” he delves even further into the fundamental truths that form our most essential bonds. The South Wales Valleys–bred singer/songwriter and weathered busker is celebrated for his affecting yarns and a voice with the emotionally charged quality of Sam Smith and James Blunt. Still, here he taps into something more personal.
Founded on the premise that loving the right person can be as instinctual as blinking or breathing, the song embodies quiet wisdom. Writer’s block hit hard, Adams says, but once he figured out what that feeling was like, the songs came and flowed with ease, and you can hear that authentic candor in each line. What started simply as a bare acoustic sketch bloomed, though minimally, into a warm and organic soundscape, given appealing color by understated banjo and gentle country textures that curl around his voice like a soft yet steady pulse.
There’s a humanity at the heart of Adams’s craft, a character shaped by his accomplished influences, including honest songwriters such as James Morrison, Damien Rice, and Passenger. His acoustic-first approach gives ample room for his witheringly expressive voice to stretch, soar, and crack where it’s supposed to, turning plain observations into pockets of emotional insight.
“Loving You (Is a Reflex)” should feel like a logical progression for Adams, an anthem that encourages introspection, asking you to question the kind of love that requires neither effort nor explanation. It’s warm, unpretentious, and profoundly relatable, a quietly stunning reminder that the most consuming emotions often buoy us along without our even realizing it.