Look, I’ve never been good at playing it cool. My mom used to joke that I came out reaching for what I wanted and crying until I got it. By sixteen I was sneaking out with boys who had no business getting my attention and by twenty I was the girl showing up at his place with weed at midnight because waiting felt like torture. Even now I still operate the same goddamn way. Reckless is my factory setting. When I want someone I go after them with zero regard for how it looks or whether I’m supposed to wait three days to text back or pretend I don’t need their hands on me. That whole “play hard to get” thing? Never learned it. I can’t do it and I won’t do it. So when June opens ‘Reckless’ asking ” Is it so wrong to want somebody near? / A little warmth to quiet down my fears “ I felt that shit. The audacity of needing someone and refusing to feel bad about it? That’s my whole personality.
This synthpop confession is wrapped in the kind of production that makes you want to dance while simultaneously texting someone you probably shouldn’t. June starts vulnerable as hell, admitting “I might be reaching, this love got me tweakin’ / But I’m not asking for too much / Just a healing from your touch.” That line right there. The way she frames touch as healing instead of just wanting it for fun? Honest as fuck. We’ve all been there, needing someone’s hands on us because it quiets the chaos in our heads, because their warmth is the only thing that makes the fear shut up for a minute. She’s tweaking over this person and she knows she might be reaching too far, but she’s doing it anyway because the alternative is denying herself what she needs.
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Then June hits us with the thesis statement of the whole damn song. “And I know it’s not healthy, the thrill always gets me / And you always get me (so come get me).” Wait, pause. The self-awareness in admitting the thrill is probably the problem while simultaneously inviting him to come get her anyway? That’s the whole fucking vibe. She knows this dynamic might be messy. She knows chasing the thrill could wreck her. She’s doing it anyway because the high of being gotten, of being wanted, of having him come for her feels better than any risk. That “so come get me” is an invitation and a dare at the same time. Real talk, how many times have we texted someone knowing full well we’re feeding into something that probably isn’t sustainable, but the dopamine hit of their reply makes it worth it?
The chorus is where June stops apologizing completely. ” Loving you feels so selfish by design / Like every need of mine is such a fucking crime / But I need you so I do it all the time / Do it all the time. “ She’s reclaiming selfishness as something powerful. Society has conditioned women to feel guilty for having needs and for wanting touch and warmth and someone to show up when you call them at 2am. We’re supposed to be chill and not too much. Fuck that narrative. June’s saying yeah, needing someone might feel selfish by design, every need might get treated like a crime, but she’s gonna keep doing it because denying herself feels worse. The repetition of “do it all the time” is her doubling down. She’s choosing this mess on purpose.
Then comes the line that made me physically react. “Yeah needing you feels so reckless, out of line / But I like it when we’re crossing all the lines / Kinda reckless by design.” That’s the fucking line. She likes crossing the lines. She’s reckless by design meaning this isn’t something she fell into accidentally it’s built into who she is. Some people are wired to color inside the lines and play it safe. June’s wired to cross every boundary because that’s where the thrill is. The rhythm fuels that wet rush of adrenaline you get when you’re about to do something you shouldn’t but you’re doing it anyway because it feels too fucking good to stop.
Ok so June is a 25-year-old singer-songwriter from Houston who’s doing something fucking genius with dance pop right now. She’s got this rare ability to make tracks that absolutely slap on the dance floor while still gutting you emotionally which is the kind of duality we need more of in pop music. Her sound pulls from nasty seductive rhythms and these dreamy melodies made for both crying in your car at 2am and losing your shit at pregame with your friends. What makes her even more important is that she’s a woman of color actively carving out space in pop and hoping to inspire other women of color to do the same. She’s straddling that perfect line between compelling storytelling and pure dance floor energy.
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The second verse flips the dynamic. ” You called me that night to ask me how I’m doing / You said you give me the world and that you’d prove it. “ He’s saying all the right things and offering her everything. And here’s where June gets real about the doubt creeping in. ” You may be reaching you’re soul might not mean it / Now I’m just doubting you too much / And I’m still needing your touch. “ The doubt is there. She knows he might be reaching the same way she was earlier. She’s not blind to the possibility that his promises are empty. And you know what? She’s choosing to dive-in because the emotional and physical payoff of having him feels better than protecting herself from potential disappointment.
The track ends with the simplest, most devastating invitation: “And you always get me / So come get me.” No overthinking. No playing games. Just come get me. He knows how to pull her in and make her feel like the only person in the room. She’s giving him the green light to do it again even though she knows the risks. This is desire reclaimed as something powerful instead of weak. This is refusing to apologize for wanting someone who gets you even when the whole dynamic might be messy as hell.
I texted someone I shouldn’t have last night. Knew it was a bad idea while I was doing it. Sent it anyway because denying myself felt worse than the regret I might feel later. He texted back within minutes. We’re getting drinks Friday. Will it end well? Probably not. Am I doing it anyway? Absolutely. Because I’m reckless by design, same as my mom always said, same as June is on this track. Some of us are just wired to reach for what we want with both hands and zero apologies, and honestly? I wouldn’t change it if I could.
