Riley Polanski Faces the Weight of Letting Go With “Sad Again”

Los Angeles-based indie folk-pop artist Riley Polanski has a way of making you feel like they’ve cracked open your own journal and turned the words into music. On September 26, 2025, Riley returns with “Sad Again,” a stirring new single that leans into heartbreak, vulnerability, and the strange comfort of finally surrendering to what can’t be changed.

Known for weaving haunting storytelling with cinematic textures, Riley doesn’t shy away from the heavier corners of life. Their music often grapples with queerness, sobriety, and the fragile tangle of human connection—and “Sad Again” feels like another chapter in that honest exploration. Built on aching guitar lines and raw, confessional lyrics, the track captures the quiet devastation of realizing some endings are inevitable, no matter how hard we fight against them.

But this isn’t just another sad song. “Sad Again” acknowledges that sadness isn’t something you can simply switch off. Riley wraps those feelings in melody, delivering lines that sting with truth while offering space to breathe. There are moments where his voice feels like a gift—tender yet heavy, rolling us into our own reflections. At its heart, the single is both a heartbreak and an anthem: an ode to those who’ve tried their best, stumbled through pride, and come to terms with pain that lingers in unexpected ways.

Riley describes it best by letting the song sit in its sadness rather than trying to outrun it. And in that stillness, there’s a surprising beauty—one that transforms grief into something universally resonant. It’s the kind of track that not only makes you feel less alone but also reminds you that while pain will circle back, so will healing.

The single is also the final preview of Riley’s highly anticipated EP, Thought I’d Learn By Now, arriving November 5, 2025. If “Sad Again” is any indication, the project promises to be Riley’s most vulnerable and powerful body of work to date—cementing their voice at the intersection of confession and catharsis.

And for fans hoping to experience the intimacy of Riley’s music in person, mark your calendars:📍 Hotel Café — October 11, 2025 — 9:30 PM

With “Sad Again,” Riley Polanski doesn’t just deliver a song; they deliver a reminder that sadness can hold meaning, too. Sometimes, leaning into the ache is the only way to find peace.

“Sad Again” leans into the idea of sitting with pain instead of running from it. Was there a particular moment in your life that inspired you to write this song?

I think there are certain aspects of my life that I’ve found hard to move past—certain people I’ve had a hard time letting go of. However, the more lessons I learn, the more I realize life is happening for me, not against me! In terms of a specific moment, “Sad Again” is about a crush that failed to develop, and the sadness that came with the idea of what I had pictured. In retrospect, it was never supposed to develop, and I would’ve missed out on the experience of other things if it did. Yes, in the moment it sucked, but it happened, it passed, and I got to move through that pain with grace. 

Your upcoming EP Thought I’d Learn By Now feels like it’s going to be your most vulnerable project yet. What was the biggest lesson you learned while creating it?

This EP revolves around lived patterns across multiple relationships—within addiction, abuse, and avoidance. It’s not something that I wrote lightly. When Emily Waldron (Producer of “Thought I’d Learn By Now”) and I embarked on this journey, we wanted a through line of emotion. I never thought that the through line of emotion would be within myself. Truly coming to terms with what goes into breaking patterns came to me as the songs released—not as I wrote them, but from the feedback I received from fans and how much certain songs meant to certain people. Everyone needed to hear something different. The “Sad Again” girly may be going through heartbreak, while the “Get Me Out of This” diva is understanding what they’re willing to accept.

You’ve mentioned themes like queerness, sobriety, and human connection in your music. How do those personal experiences shape the sound and stories you share on this EP?

I keep no secrets especially around my discussion of romantic relationships with men in my music—relationships that can be just as corrupt and drug-involved as heterosexual ones. Yes, addiction is a part of my story, and that’s something I have to be honest about. I sometimes lead with the discussion of substance abuse in past love and how it has impacted the presence of the relationship—within myself and with the other person. Like I’ve said, this EP deals with being tied to cyclical relationships, whether those relationships involve substance, abuse, or love. These are the biggest areas of my life I’ve learned from, but the question remains: how much more do I have to learn from these thematic experiences? This is why the EP is titled “Thought I’d Learn By Now.” There is no “there, there.” We are always learning, forever evolving in this life.

For listeners who may be going through their own “sad again” moment, what do you hope they take away from this single?

For listeners who are having their own “Sad Again” experience, know that it will pass. You are allowed to sit in the uncomfortable and grieve, but know that it is not forever. The grass will become greener—even if you don’t get to the other side as fast as you’d like. You start to sew the seeds and water as soon as you land in acceptance, and sometimes even earlier. You may not even realize the healing you are already doing.