zzzahara - Spiral Your Way Out

‘Spiral Your Way Out’ is a slice of Californian sun that cuts through these grey winter days. An album inspired by feeling totally out of control of your own destiny, it’s a love letter to zzzahara’s native Highland Park and the collage of communities that come together in the LA suburb. A throwback to 90s slacker pop, combined with pop-punk intonation and jangly college rock guitars, it’s a record that’s pretty much impossible to dislike.

Opener ‘It Didn’t Mean Nothing’ sets the tone, sounding a bit like what would have happened if The Cure had chosen to write songs in a major key. Spinning tales of heartbreak and identity crises over a sunny, upbeat sonic background takes the edge off some of zzzahara’s most introspective moments. Emo rap-adjacent lyricism in ‘Bruised’ cuts to the heart of break-up pain, whilst ‘Head In A Wheel’ takes cyclical despair and turns it into a shoegaze classic. The range of zzzahara’s influences is most clearly represented in ‘If I Had To Go I Would Leave The Door Closed Half Way’, where an almost psychedelic-rock, Stone Roses-esque backdrop brings together vocal and guitar layers to create the feeling that there’s a ghost on your shoulder that just won’t let you move on.

To create what is ostensibly a break-up album and still make it seem like a summer movie soundtrack is no mean feat. They say that third time’s a charm, and this third zzzahara album proves it. Unpretentious yet unafraid, ‘Spiral Your Way Out’ is zzzahara leaving their trauma behind and preparing to take on the world in 2025. They’ve shaken off the chains of heartbreak and are ready to fly free, and off the strength of this album, the sky’s the limit.