EP Review: ZAND - 'Ugly Pop'
Everybody drop what you’re doing, this is a Public Service Announcement: Blackpool-born artist ZAND dismantles pretty privilege on exceptional debut EP ‘Ugly Pop’ and you should definitely give it a listen.
Music at its best surpasses genres. A truly great song makes you listen up because something about its production catches you completely off guard. ZAND’s ‘Ugly Pop’ EP spans four such genre bending, attention grabbing, tracks. Each one gritty, bold and unapologetic. Magnetic basslines twist and turn, bending into a myriad of shapes, while ZAND’s razor sharp lyricism rips holes into porous foundations. With titles like ‘Bald Bitch’, ‘Inappropriate’ and ‘Slut Money’, the theme of the record is pretty self-explanatory: breaking out of a cis-heteronormative society and putting entitled *insert preferred swearword here* in their place. ‘Ugly Pop’ is a record of liberation and empowerment, brimming with powerhouse anthems it gives a voice to the marginalised by addressing “controversial” topics in a way that leaves no room for counterarguments. because.there.are.none. The pièce de résistance however, is closing track ‘Freak’ – a dangerously intoxicating dark pop tune that draws on ZAND’s experience as gender non-binary. To a hypnotic bassline and heavy percussions, their thunderous vocals bounce off the walls, proudly exclaiming: “Sorry if you don’t understand, I know exactly who I am.” It’s this jaw-dropping air of confidence and authenticity that turns the EP into something truly awe inspiring.
ZAND’s unique brand of sound may be far from pretty but it’s drop-dead gorgeous in the same way a thunderstorm is marvellously beautiful. Fascinating, impossible to explain and most definitely deadly. With clever wit and hook-heavy choruses, ZAND pulls you in, keeping you firmly hooked on fantastically gruesome ugly pop.
Words by Laura Freyaldenhoven