Category: EP – 8 tracks, runtime – 22 min
Genre: Alternative
Release Date: 12.December.2024
Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ – 9.2/10
A member of our team loves to call sis Zowie Kengotcha. Tryhard, right? It’s what the rest of us thought. But Zowie *does* have us with this project, so there’s that. I mean, straight out from the opener, there she is both altered & raw, enchantingly belting out lines about cycles of love, pain & growth, across a restlessly percolating carpet of sound.
Enter the standout joint “Taboo”. Sheesh, that sauce had us moving some typa way. There’s an enduring air about it. In fact, we’d be game with it surpassing its companions in traction, but alas, world’s not fair. Still, it’d be cool to make a post-release single campaign out of it, one wishes! Just ‘cause it could turn into something that goes beyond this moment.
“Floodbank”, the Bondesque followup’s a treat too. Wall of sound-ish, abounding in distortions, lines blurred between echoey melodies & rhythm, track’s a gem! It all sinks in when that spoken section takes its course & culminates in some delightfully higher-energy singing.
Zowie’s a one of a kind vibe, and it slips into her craft. For one, there’s no support roster on here. Then there’s some adorably cheeky quirks like that third last track “Last One, I Promise”, which as you may have guessed is definitely not the last tune of the project. A whole synthpop bop, home girl delivered a potentially perfect FIFA/EA Sports banger typa thing.
The real closer “Soft Eyes” has her signature yearning pipes hugged by hypnotically imposing harmonies. She drives it all home with a lazed up talk-rap section, culminating in blaring synths with a triumphant finality about them. The piece is sonically emblematic of the whole joint. It’s self aware in all the right ways, experimental without being gimmicky, intricate in its fusions without playing it safe. Easily in the top 3 EP’s we’ve chanced upon in 2024!
