We were super bummed to have zzzahara’s headlining show last month at MilkBoy get cancelled… but super excited to see that the LA-based singer/songwriter – whose music draws references to shoegaze, garage rock, and emo, alike — will be back in town this week (accompanied by jazz musicians that they’ve sourced from CalArts, apparently), when they open The Foundry at The Fillmore for indie sleaze era indie pop duo Cults this Thursday, June 19th, even if it will be a slightly abbreviated set…
During a recent phone chat, zzzahara — who was in the studio at the time – tells me that the reason for the cancellations of several headlining dates was that a handful of the markets overlapped with the Cults dates. However, they tell me that fans can expect a 40-minute set comprised of their most appropriately late aughts/early 2010s indie sounds. They also tell me that they’ve been a longtime fan of Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion (“I think they’re sick! I love that song ‘Go Outside!’”), first seeing the New York duo as a teen at Make Music Pasadena, a former free annual festival curated by the mayor of Pasadena, where zzzahara also first saw Best Coast and Grimes: “That was a good time for music, with all of that indie stuff going on!”
zzzahara’s currently touring behind their third solo LP, Spiral Your Way Out, which dropped this January on Lex Records, who they’ve been with since their first collaborative release with Eyedress as The Simps in 2020. “It’s a small record label. There’s only like four people, so they’re four people I’ve known really well for the past five years [laughs],” zzzahara jokes, going on to say, “They never put any limitations to anything… As I started growing, they grew with me… I get to do what I want, and I think a lot of musicians never get to find themselves in music in that way.”
Spiral Your Way Out, zzzahara’s third solo LP for the label, represents an evolution of sorts in the recording process: “The production value is definitely better… I was working with producers to try to structure the songs, which is different from what I did before. For earlier releases, I would work mostly through my laptop.” Those producers include Jorge Elbrecht (Sky Ferreira, No Joy, Hatchie), Ducktails guitarist Alex Craig, Halsey’s live drummer Franco Reid, and illuminati hotties’ Sarah Tudzin, who’s [relatively] recently worked with our buddies Sunflower Bean, Daisy the Great, and Pom Pom Squad. “We got along really well, and have a lot of mutual friends… She really let me do my thing, which was really cool,” zzzahara tells me of the collaboration.
When I ask about zzzahara’s favorite reactions to the new music, they admit that getting to connect with fans in person is a definite highlight, even if that wasn’t something they were always comfortable with: “A lot of the standout moments are definitely getting to hang out with the fans after the shows. Before, I was pretty shy, but now I love to head over to the merch stand after the show, hang out, sign records and shirts, and get to know my fanbase and what my music means to them.” They also say that getting to see fans singing along to the lyrics feels incredible, especially since they admit that they still get nerves about putting out new material: “When an artist puts a new album out that’s different from their old music, you never know if they’re going to like it.”
The most recent music from zzzahara, however, is actually even newer than Spiral Your Way Out. Last month zzzahara dropped “cigarette song,” a collaboration with Faerybabyy. And despite a having a handful of notable collaboration under their belt, zzzahara confesses that they do have certain requirements for working with other musicians: “I don’t really like to collaborate with other artists if we’re not friends first.” However, they tell me that they immediately got good vibes from Faerybabyy, and this particular track dates back to their very first meeting: “The first time me and Faerybabyy met, we were just smoking cigarettes in my loft, and we were like, ‘It would be funny if we made a song about cigarettes.’” And when the two found themselves with Faerybabyy’s producer in their studio in Calabasas, they decided it needed to happen: “We were like, ‘We should do our cigarette song!’”
And, apparently, there are more collaborations (and a proper release) between zzzahara and Faerybabyy to come in the near future, in addition to some live shows: “We’re just gonna roll out the singles throughout the year. We’re probably gonna roll out the next one in July or August… We’re planning on doing some shows where we play those songs, and then each do our own thing.” But zzzahara also tells me that they plan to spend the second half of 2025 playing a lot more of their own shows as well, in addition to working on Spiral Your Way Out’s follow-up, which will see them expanding their horizons, literally: “My cousin, who works at LAX, added me to his family fly plan, so I get to fly for free… I’m gonna go to Australia and work on my record. I want to record in as many places as possible.”
*Get your tickets here.
