Xana Shares Empowering Sophomore LP, The Sex Was Good Until It Wasn’t

Canadian pop artist Xana shares her eagerly anticipated intimate, empowering sophomore album The Sex Was Good Until It Wasn’t, out everywhere now, and reflects on a soured relationship with latest single “the sex was good!“.

The evocative, gripping, proudly queer collection sees Xana confront dark truths and deep pain as she learns to process and heal past wounds through shimmering melodies, captivating vocals and candid, clever lyricism.

Out today, The Sex Was Good Until It Wasn’t goes where Xana has never gone before, touching on incredibly personal–and at times traumatic–subject matter. Over fifteen vivid tracks, she puts herself in the driver’s seat, taking charge of her own story while offering listeners a place of refuge and freedom. Unbound to a single genre or a particular moment, the album unapologetically builds a heartfelt world that is as explosive and bright as it is profound and dark as well as radically queer, providing the necessary space for all–Xana included–to heal. The artist, who is the sole songwriter on the project, sees this body of work as a refined, fully formed evolution from her past work, in part due to her brutally honest songwriting and the free-flowing trust built with producers Liam Moes and Shane Stephenson. Thrilled to finally welcome listeners into this new cosmic world, Xana explains, “It’s an album that I’ve been wanting to write for a long time and I went into it knowing exactly what its purpose would be.”

Last month, Xana shared the building, melodic “Monster,” a track that recounts the artist’s most unsavory moments as it daringly unfolds with a list of some of her regrets and ultimately sees the artist takes responsibility for her actions. Xana says it’s one of her favorite songs she’s ever written.

“I wrote this song at a time where I was forced to look my mistakes square in the eye and take accountability for the hurt caused by my actions. I had to ask myself questions like “Why do you think your feelings go above the feelings of others? Why are you okay with lying to people who care about you? Why is it impossible for you to apologize? Why are you so defensive and why do you default to throwing punches when you’re hurt?” 

“Monster” is the apt follow up to the anthemic, rebellious previously shared dark-pop/rock track “Homewrecking Era” where she plays a villainous character who falls victim to her own toxic tendencies. If on “Homewrecking Era,” Xana makes a mess, on “Monster,” she cleans it up. “Homewrecking Era” is a shameless, playful exploration of toxicity and sees Xana step into a villainous role. Dripping with her signature seduction, the lyrics–paired with breathy, flirtatious vocals–depict a character who gets what they want, no matter the cost. Xana says the track is the record’s “bratty child,” as it dives into the forbidden pleasures of a toxic love affair, one that, Xana states, “becomes the magnetic force that keeps two souls entwined, despite the impending chaos.” 

The first taste of the project came with the risqué track and video–”Better Kind Of Best Friend“–a building, steamy ode to confidence and queer empowerment that celebrates sexual pleasure and bodily autonomy and now boasts over 1.2M streams across streaming platforms. The song’s inclusion on the album adds a new dimension, bringing levity, pleasure and depth to a project that delves into heavy topics, leading Xana to ask, “What’s an album about the horrors of sex without a song about the wonders of sex?” With queerness, and queer sex in particular, rarely spoken about positively publicly if at all, Xana hopes to shed light on the beauty and joy of queer sex. Xana adds, “As a queer person, my relationship with sex all my life has been a challenging road to navigate, and I think it’s really important to remind people that sex isn’t the end all be all and sex is allowed to be–and supposed to be–fun and lighthearted and pleasurable for all parties.” 

This summer, Xana will embark on a U.S. tour to support the new album beginning next month on June 1 in Portland, OR, with tickets on sale now via xanaofficial.com/tour. The tour will make its way down the West Coast stopping in Seattle, WA, San Francisco, CA Los Angeles, CA and more. In mid-June, Xana will make two stops in Texas and two stops in Florida, and will then perform in cities including Nashville, TN, a venue upgrade in Chicago, IL, and Summerfest in Milwaukee, WI on June 29, where she’s set to perform ahead of FLETCHER.

Connect with Xana on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube and stay tuned for much more to come from the rising pop singer-songwriter.