The Serbian ramonda is a flower of resilience, able to be revived from a totally dehydrated condition with just a few drops of water. Teya Dora’s Ramonda isn’t quite as regenerative. 

There is so much pain in Teya Dora’s voice. She cries in a language of evocativeness. “I don’t have peace / There’s no sleep / The night won’t give way to dawn / Doomed is the one who is alone.” I am invited and instructed to share in the misery. 

But the song doesn’t quite have a stranglehold on me. There isn’t a melody to latch on to. 

There is only so much a song can do with just emotion. Yes, it’s a strength, but it must be paired with something else to give it that much-needed first time impact. Ramonda is missing an impactful buddy. Maybe it needs to be watered.