Close on the heels of the huge success of her third single of 2026, “Ain’t In LA”, Adela’s first full-length album, Prima, arrives on September 4th via UMG. The eleven-track record is a tight, concise half-hour of largely high-energy tracks mixing hip-hop, pop and electronic elements.
The album kicks off with its lead single, “KGB”, which isn’t the best possible start the album could have – the lyrics are repetitive and somewhat vapid, and the production, while vibrant and energetic, becomes a little mind-numbing as the song goes on. It feels at times like a Katseye song with a bit more personality, and that really isn’t a compliment.
Throughout most of the tracklist, though, things do pick up. The best part of almost every track is the instrumental – the production is colorful and expansive, with the percussion in particular being very well-made and maximizing the energy and impact of the songs. The sample in the beat of “Nicole Kidman”, the rhythmic synth hits on the chorus of “Boys”, the buzzing 808s on “Starving Artist” and the strings on the building instrumental of “Hitachi” are among the best instrumental elements of the album. There are moments when things get a little overstimulating, like on “Marijuana” – a track which generally feels like it should’ve gone back to the drawing board and could’ve been cut from the final tracklist – but it’s mostly a lot of fun. The choruses are also really catchy, particularly on the aforementioned “Ain’t In LA” and “Boys”, and also on “Fantasize”, though it’s slightly offset on that track by the odd clashing synth line that reappears consistently.
Adela also more than holds her own over the instrumental. She’s a charismatic and confident performer, with decent vocals and a good deal of character. She feels more sure of herself on each track than someone like Tate McRae, who has similar production at times, and she is a good deal more unabashed and unfiltered than a lot of her peers. This does become somewhat awkward at times, with the softer and more emotional feel of “Hitachi” being thrown off somewhat by it being named after a vibrator and it being as overtly sex-centered as it is, and the more confessional energy of “Therapy” losing a little bit of its impact because the lyrics feel like they were just the first thing that Adela wrote down. The sentiment of bemoaning the “old white men” who “hold the keys to your future” is very much understandable and valid, but the way Adela delivers it isn’t particularly new or interesting, and, furthermore, was also clearly approved by those same “old white men” before it was released.
The lyrics overall are probably the weakest part of the album. There are fun turns of phrase at times, but mostly, it’s pretty generic, not veering very far away from the topics of self-affirmation, sex and partying for most of the project, and not going about tackling those topics in particularly original ways. The verse on “Therapy” about struggling to cope with her younger sister growing up is sweet and is probably the best part of the album lyrically, but other than that not much stands out.
Overall, Prima is a decent record. It’s got really catchy hooks and really bouncy production, and would do very well in night clubs or similar settings, where people come to enjoy themselves without paying too much attention to the little things within the songs. It’s nothing revolutionary, but Adela has occupied a specific niche within the pop landscape, and this album will definitely help her hold onto it.
7.2/10
