Hello Reader,
Welcome back to the site and to my first review of 2025. This has been a rough start to the year after a not much better end to 2024 for me. Unlike Josh, I still have some best-of-2024 content to finish, but first, I’m glad to be back talking to you and shedding some light on good music for you to hear.
Today, we’re going to delve into the out guitarist, songwriter, and singer, zzzahara. The Los Angeles-born and raised artist is relatively new to the scene, having started creating music as part of the duo, The Simps with the artist Eyedress. Their debut album Siblings was released in early 2022 and saw a lot of play during COVID. After that release, zzzahara enhanced their resume by creating more music with strong LA area and Queer vibes. In 2022, they released their debut album, Liminal Spaces, and followed up with another album in 2023 titled Tender, garnering the artist more attention and praise.
Earlier this month, on Friday, January 10th, via Lex Records, zzzahara released her third solo album, Spiral Your Way Out. Via the album’s press release, zzzahara stated, “I decided to just let myself go. I think I finally came to this acceptance that I don’t have to be perfect. I want to be a good role model to my fans and stuff like that, but I also don’t want to hide who I am.” Within Spiral Your Way Out, there are some great collabs as they worked with a handful of producers, including Halsey tour drummer Franco Reid, Jorge Elbrecht (Japanese Breakfast, No Joy, Sky Ferreira), former Ducktails guitarist Alex Craig (Jelani Aryeh, re6ce), Sarah Tudzin (boygenius, Cloud Nothings, The Armed), and Arian Jalali. From the album’s press release zzzahara notes, “A lot of the instrumentation is either a group effort or just two of us in the room, so it felt nice to have that weight off my shoulders. It felt comfortable to have them lead or translate what I’d written and make it better.”
One last quote from the album’s press release has zzzahara in a stable place and introspective perspective, stating, “My whole life, all I’ve known is destruction. Having a dysfunctional family, trying to figure out where I lie in this world… I feel like that’s the kind of life I lead. Very spirally, very chaotic. It’s one big fucking mystery. It takes so long for me to feel comfortable in any place, but working on not giving a fuck has been my vibe recently. Like, I could spiral out of control, but that’s just who I am. That’s what I figured out at the end of this journey.”
Giving credit where it’s due. Spiral Your Way Out album credits:
- Songs were written by Zahara Jaime (all), Jorge Elbrecht (songs 1 and 8), Alex Craig (songs 2 and 5), Franco Reid (songs 3, 4, 6, 10), Sarah Tudzin (song 7), and Arian Jalali (song 9).
- Songs produced by Zahara Jaime (songs 2-10), Jorge Elbrecht (songs 1 and 8), Alex Craig (songs 2 and 5), Franco Reid (songs 3, 4, 6, 10), Sarah Tudzin (song 7), and Arian Jalali (song 9).
- Jorge Elbrecht: guitar (on songs 1 and 8), synth (on song 1)
- Zahara Jaime: vocals (all songs), guitar (all songs), bass (on song 3), drums (on song 9)
- Joshua Trevizo: drums (songs 1 and 8), bass (on song 8)
- Wesley Nelson: bass on song 1
- Alex Craig: guitar, bass, drums on songs 2 and 5
- Franco Reid: bass and drums on songs 3, 4, 7 and 10
- Sarah Tudzin: guitar, synth, drums, bass on song 6
- Arian Jalali: synth, bass, guitar, drums on song 9
- All tracks mixed by Thomas Herbert except 1 & 8 mixed by Jorge Elbrecht.
- Mastered by Dave Cooley at Elysian Masters.
And now for some hype or your eyes and ears from their YouTube page:
I get 90s vibes with this video for the song, “If I Had To Go I Would Leave The Door Closed Half Way”:
(All credits and rights to zzzahara)
Super 8 mm film fans will love the footage, and music fans will love this gorgeous song, “Wish You Would Notice”:
(All credits and rights to zzzahara)
The fabulous animated in old school GTA fashion style for the song, “Ghosts”:
(All credits and rights to zzzahara)
Overall, Spiral Your Way Out is, for my money, zzzahara’s most fleshed-out, most cohesive solo work yet. They use life experience, feelings about ex-gfs, and more to write their best songs so far. While it can take some artists months, years, or decades to flesh out such inspiration to an album, others have a quicker turnaround time. There’s no time limit for quality or catharsis. The latter is far more important, right? Sometimes, the quality of the songwriting varies and is fully discovered later in life. As for the turnaround time with these ten songs, I’m impressed. The songs are not only solid as individuals but also pair well together to form a great album from start to finish. Both zzzahara’s vocals and lyrics are a feat of strength, playing triumphant in their journey to get here, showing reflection, decision-making, and perspective. Their collaboration with producers, who worked well with each other, enhanced their original ideas, which the listener repeatedly hears throughout this album. There are plenty of great moments of instrumentation with guitars, drums, and synths. And well-placed and executed melodic shifts that pair perfectly with the lyrics and vocal deliveries. I get a lot of 90s vibes, a lot of growing up in Cali vibes, a lot of Queer vibes, and a lot of relatable romance vibes and you will too. This album is a lovely time and listening experience. This truly is the artist taking the next steps in building their discography with above-average albums.
The album opens with the resolute tone setter in “It Didn’t Mean Nothing” which kicks off Spiral Your Way Out in a quick-moving jaunty melody with a lot of feel-good vibes paired with reflective lyrics that are steadfast in their earworm-worthy chorus. Wesley Nelson’s funky bass groove gets a moment in the spotlight to shine towards the song’s closing. The next song, “In Your Head” transports me back to the 90s with its melody and zzzahara’s vocals. The lyrics read like a call to arms to another, a plea for cognizance. And the frustration when you’re a part of that situation.
“Bruised” follows this up with more frustration, and the melody shifts perfectly to match the mood as it alternates throughout the song to match zzzahara’s vocal tones. Call me a sucker, but I loved the jangly guitar intro for “If I Had To Go, I Would Leave the Door Closed Half Way.” It’s a great song from start to finish and a song that will stick with you. Both the lyrical and melody hooks sink and become earworms. It’s soon to be a fan favorite.
The next song, “Wish You Would Notice,” is full of strength. It is a collective cohesion created via lyrics paired with melody perfectly. It definitely would pass the vibe check and get repeated listens. It’s another gem of a song on this album. This leads into “Ghosts” and its rollicking guitar and drum-driven melody. The slower moments lead to excellent choruses. It serves as yet another song for the listener to get stuck in their head.
“Pressure Makes a Diamond” kicks off with a slower-paced melody and shows zzzahara’s vocals being delivered in a more distressed, bleak tone. The choice results in another great pairing of melody and lyrics. And gives zzzahara’s vocals a great chance to shine. And then “Head in a Wheel” blasts off from the start with jangly guitar sounds that play well with the drums. The lyrics are reflective in nature, examining someone numb and looking to feel a bit more.
The ninth song on the album, “Bluebird” tells of wanting a simple and close relationship amidst a more bubbly melody. The futuristic sound to start the final song, “NY NY” creates a dystopian mood that meshes well with forlorn lyrics and a downtrodden vocal delivery.
Spiral Your Way Out gets 4 out of 5 Scum Drops from me. As mentioned above, it’s a very good listening experience. And definitely above average. Relative to 2024 new music releases? It’s far too early to tell, but I feel this is their best work yet. Solid production, sound quality, instrumentation, and worthy of adding to your collection on the format of your choice.
Spiral Your Way Out track listing (song length)
- It Didn’t Mean Nothing (3:08)
- In Your Head (2:28)
- Bruised (2:49)
- If I Had To Go I Would Leave the Door Closed Half Way (3:14)
- Wish You Would Notice (2:37)
- Ghosts (3:59)
- Pressure Makes a Diamond (3:07)
- Head in a Wheel (3:26)
- Bluebird (2:40)
- NY NY (2:43)
Total runtime: 30:11
I’ll always advocate that you take the time to listen to every album in its entirety. From start to finish, the listening process with Spiral Your Way Out will take you a half hour and an hour if you listen twice back to back. Along the way, you’ll discover your own favorite songs without the influence or bias of others. After a few listens on my own, the songs that are highlighted in green font above are my favorite songs on this album.
Looking for more from zzzahara? Check out zzzahara’s Spotify page, their Instagram page, and their Bluesky, which I think deserves some more love and new followers.
Thank you for reading and supporting good music.
Until next time,
Alex
Scummy Water Tower Productions co-founder, reviewer, business manager, and editor. Thank you for visiting this site: scummywatertower.com, and YouTube for Water Tower Sessions!
Contact me: alex@scummywatertower.com
