Ada Lea - when i paint my masterpiece
Next Door Records
Released on August 8th, 2025
Alexandra Levy is an artist in the truest sense of the word: unconcerned with format, medium or style, she creates transdisciplinary work that engages “with the process, rather than the product”. Under the moniker Ada Lea, Levy releases contemporary folk music that is raw and open-hearted, yet playful and quick-witted. Her latest release, when i paint my masterpiece, is a hefty 16-track opus that unfolds delicately, pedal by pedal, to reveal a portrait of an artist and a life - knowingly imperfect and willingly laid bare.
From the opening track - an instrumental guitar study that abruptly cuts, as though changing the channel - you get the sense that this album will not be chasing industry recognition or easy streams. Quickly followed by the understated “moon blossom”, Ada Lea gently beckons the listener in, steadying our minds and sharing a deep, pensive breath before digging into the meat of the matter.
The third track “baby blue frigidaire mini fridge” is where we finally hear the full band and enjoy Levy’s singular cleverness and charm. Wisely chosen as the first single, the song flexes Levy’s songwriting abilities, a simple poem of longing that’s as relatable as it is devastating. Listing objects as if in a grounding exercise, Levy draws attention to what’s missing by pointing out what’s in view. “Neon pothos, jigsaw puzzle / and I’ve forgotten every password / Cast iron stovepot from the yard sale down the road / a bowl of soggy rice / yeah, everything comes at a price…tonight I’m looking / not seeing anything like you.”
Seventh track “snowglobe” is a Christmas song trojan-horsed into a summer release, and it stands out not only in seasonality, but as a masterclass in lyricism. Narrating a somber gathering among friends, ostensibly to support a grieving friend, Levy cracks jokes to lighten the mood. Playing with the absurdity of the moment, “snowglobe” presents a tableau of mismatched patterns, cheap wine and holiday baking, all so crisply defined you can almost smell the cinnamon in the air. ‘Last week, a box of records arrived by UPS / now she owns her father’s collection / she cracks the deck in two / and places a card next to the wine with the kangaroo.”
“bob dylan’s 115th haircut” immediately won me over on title alone, but it continues to stay planted firmly in my ear canals; so catchy and ridiculously self-aware, you’d be hard-pressed to find a modern comparison. Perhaps imagining herself as Bob Dylan's hairdresser, Ada Lea takes the age-old adage “change your hair, change your life” to a whole new level. With her signature wit and wisdom, she reassures the artist in all of us: “bob dylan couldn’t have written this song / not even if he wanted to / not even just for fun / I feel kind of bad / kind of lucky, too / with only one of me / and one of you”.
In “down under the van horne overpass”, we are treated to the most quintessential Ada Lea-style song on the album. Reflecting the softer side of 90s grunge, but with an unmistakable Montreal-tinted lens, the song gently swells and sways. Ada Lea’s self-possessed melody guides us through the hazy landscape of a late-night DIY show, complete with dirty concrete and drunk miscreants, trains roaring by. Although I’ve never lived in Montreal proper, I’ve spent enough time at shows just like this one to assure you, she’s done it justice. The song is rightfully nostalgic - for our twenties, for our partying days, and for someone who’s not there like they used to be. “when I think of you, you’re in your apartment / morning sunlight streaming in / when I think of you, you’re in your apartment”.
Just as folk hero Maud Lewis’ tiny coastal cottage became her best known work of art, so, too, does Ada Lea’s daily life in the Mile End become the considered artwork itself. The album illustrates that with every friendship loved and lost, every Bunz trade secured, every street corner crossed, every kettle set to whistle, Levy is indeed painting her masterpiece. It reminds me of a saying my dad would repeat as a mantra on family road trips: “life is a journey, not a destination”.