Sometimes, an album doesn’t need to be groundbreaking—it just needs to show up at the right time. So, at the start of a new year, when ambition, hope and bitter experience collide, zzzahara’s Spiral Your Way Out feels just right. It’s not perfect, but that’s the point. It’s solid and relatable, and packed with enough rawness and honesty to make what it has to say stick.
zzzahara’s journey to this point has been anything but ordinary. Their synth-heavy 2022 debut, Liminal Spaces, delved into their experiences growing up in Highland Park— an unflinching exploration of identity, transitions and coping mechanisms, set against the backdrop of a changing neighbourhood. 2023’s guitar-driven Tender slowed things down, blending shoegaze, indie, and emo genres, to focus more on themselves and emotional vulnerability. Now, with Spiral Your Way Out, zzzahara takes another path, channeling frustration and anger into something bolder: “I decided to just let myself go,” they say. “I think I finally came to this acceptance that I don’t have to be perfect.” That acceptance is in every track, fuelling something altogether more fiery and assuredly direct.
The record wastes no time making this intention clear. Opener ‘It Didn’t Mean Nothing’ is a jagged, jangly ruckus. Guitars scrape and spark like exposed wires as zzzahara’s voice cuts through the noise with urgency, regret and frustration. zzzahara’s endearing candour feels like it’s barely holding itself together, which only makes it more compelling.
Next, ‘In Your Head’ plunges into shoegaze-adjacent fuzz, swirling guitars and murmured vocals creating a medicated haze. Its dreamy production contrasts sharply with lyrics that wrestle with spiraling intrusive thoughts, anchoring the track in something deeply personal. ‘Bruised’ dials things back, opting for a quieter intensity. Restrained verses build rather than burst in, its emotional tension slowly constricting, leaving behind an impression like an arm gripped too tightly.
‘If I Had To Go I Would Leave the Door Closed Half Way’ is a mid-album reflective pause. With its repetitive melody and lilting rhythm, there’s a nostalgic, meditative quality to it that muses as it writes a diary entry. It’s not the album’s most memorable track, but provides some balance before the emotional core of the record – ‘Wish That You Would Notice.’ A stripped-back confessional written in just five minutes, ‘Wish That You Would Notice’ is as unfiltered and unguarded as it gets. Its cathartic stream-of-consciousness tempts comparisons to Elliott Smith, but zzzahara’s poppier delivery makes it distinctly theirs.
While ‘Ghosts’ continues the catchy, minimalist approach with sparse instrumentation and reflective, strolling pace, the last quarter of Spiral Your Way Out is more diverse. Watercolour guitars and lush, layered production of ‘Pressure Makes a Diamond’ evoke Broken Social Scene’s widescreen ambitions, while ‘Head in a Wheel’ roars along, jangling and driving rhythms reminding listeners of zzzahara’s DIY roots. ‘Bluebird’, inspired by Charles Bukowski’s poem, leans more into 80s C86 indie influences, with cascading melodies that carry a quiet warmth and crackle. The chiming guitars bring a sense of pop clarity but the track stands out a little against its more restless companions.
Closing track ‘NY NY’ wraps the album with a surprisingly bittersweet, unresolved mood. Its hushed energy doesn’t offer any answers but invites you to find small moments of happiness wherever you can— as Frank said in the song: “it’s up to you, New York, New York”.
“My whole life, all I’ve known is destruction,” zzzahara explains in the press release. It seems that Spiral Your Way Out embraces that chaos, and finds strength and authenticity in its imperfections. It’s an accomplished addition to their catalogue, full of moments that catch you off guard in their messy, but infectious brilliance. For anyone navigating their own spirals, there’s something especially encouraging here to hold onto—a reminder that you really don’t need to have it all figured out. You just need to keep moving.
Spiral Your Way Out is out 10th January via Lex Records.
