Kristiane channels the tension of change into “Good & Ready,” a raw yet anthemic reckoning with uncertainty, self-discovery, and the power of embracing life on her own terms.
Stream: “Good & Ready” – Kristiane
Moving to a new city is often painted as a thrilling, transformative leap – but for Kristiane, the reality was far messier.
The moment she touched down in New York, the LA native found herself caught between forward motion and an unshakable sense of inertia, floating in the space between excitement and isolation, independence and uncertainty. That tension – restlessness and resolve colliding – became the heartbeat of “Good & Ready,” a song that channels the chaos of transition into an intimate and self-assured anthem. Written in just 15 minutes, it’s a moment of reckoning: An embrace of the unknown, a reclamation of identity, and a refusal to be defined by anything other than her own timeline.
When we sit on the train
And my hands touch your face
You say, Baby I hate that mess
And there’s dirt under your nail beds
Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “Good & Ready,” Kristiane’s first single of the year (out now via FADER Label). Arriving nearly a full year after her third EP Stray Dog, “Good & Ready” finds the recent New York City transplant reckoning with the internal and external ‘fallout’ from her still-fresh relocation, working with producer Jos Kuhn to create a landscape filled with sonic and emotional churn – an intense and unabating heat, where her voice is both a beacon and a bastion. Comparable to the likes of Charli Adams, Kristiane’s indie rock sensibilities are as immediate and undeniable as her lyrics are unflinching.
I was born digging myself out
And I think that you get now
That I’ll clean up my act once
I’m softer and intact
Once I’m good and ready
Good and ready
Good and ready
“I wrote ‘Good & Ready’ in August, two weeks after moving to New York,” she tells Atwood Magazine. “I talked about moving here for (an agonizing) amount of time, but when it finally happened, I wasn’t prepared for the conflicting momentum and standstill I felt in my life. A new chapter had started, without any of the bones or foundation of a life to hold it up. I felt restless, alone, and tethered somehow all at the same time. ‘Good & Ready’ came from these bubbling contradictions.”
That swirling mix of unrest and anticipation found an immediate outlet in songwriting.
“It was one of those songs that pours out of you in 15 minutes,” Kristiane continues. “I started singing, ‘When we sit on the train, and my hands touch your face, you say baby I hate the mess,’ and then the rest of the song came. I was recounting a conversation I had with my partner, and the ways in which mess permeates in an emotional and physical sense (hence literal ‘dirt under my nail beds,’ but also internally – ‘I was born digging myself out’).”
“I wanted to convey how there are parts of myself that feel so interwoven into my being – it’s always been there – for better or for worse. But I also didn’t want to harp on flaws or insecurities as I often do in my music, I wanted to flip the narrative a bit, and to have fun with it. When I started writing the chorus, I was kind of laughing to myself honestly. I loved the idea of coming to terms with a new phase, new parts of myself, growth and loss; when I’m good and ready for it. There’s an agency in this song, an unwillingness to be defined by someone else’s expectations, and assert myself authentically and unapologetically.”
I turned red under the streetlight
Ran across, didn’t think twice
You said, some things are the worth wait
What if there’s a high-speed chase?
Then we drink ’til our minds clear
Spilled on me, all of your fears
Oh I’ll cleans up the stains
I’ll be right there
Once I’m good and ready
Good and ready
Good and ready
What began as a raw, instinctive outpouring in her room quickly evolved into something bigger as Kristiane saw her musical vision come to life in the studio.
“When I brought the song to producer Jos Kuhn in Nashville, I told him that this song needed to feel anthemic, cathartic, huge; to capture the breadth of the emotion I felt writing it alone in my strange sublet room that night,” she explains.
“He somehow made it more alive than I could have fathomed; working with Jos and later songwriter Hannah Cole in Nashville offered a sense of musical clarity and community that I have been searching for. This song is a testament to that ease in collaboration, and a concrete development in a new sonic world that I am inspired and aligned with wholly. The new world is more extroverted, still rooted in the same themes of introspection, self-discovery, loneliness; but with a self-assurance and humor that I haven’t possessed prior.”
“Good & Ready” captures Kristiane in motion – grappling with change, embracing contradictions, and ultimately reclaiming her own timeline.
What began as an intimate, deeply personal outpouring in a New York City apartment has since evolved into a boldly anthemic cathartic exhale.
The result is both a sonic and emotional shift: A song that carries Kristiane’s signature introspection with newfound confidence, candor, and an openness to whatever comes next – when she’s good and ready for it.
Stream “Good & Ready” wherever you listen to music, and watch the music video exclusively on Atwood Magazine!
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Stream: “Good & Ready” – Kristiane
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© Mallory Idoni
© Mallory Idoni
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