The artist explores human connection and society on her expansive debut EP the Sun EP
You often hear about albums or EPs being long-awaited, but rising artist ZOE from Earth‘s debut extended play the Sun EP is seven years in the making, with tracks being released over that timespan to create what is a stirring and all-encompassing showcase of the artist and the unique deftness and appeal of her work.
After opening with the atmospheric and mood-setting ‘Prelude’, the EP really begins to showcase the depth and expansive allure to the artist’s sound on ‘Horizon’, a track inspired by the book and film The Great Gatsby, and one that takes on a similarly grandiose and nostalgic feel despite the spacey and futuristic feel of the artist’s sound.
The track is followed by ‘Sun’, a track with an immersive ambience to it throughout while showcasing the soft power of the artist’s writing and vocals. There is a feeling of optimism and hope that surrounds the track throughout and makes for some really immersive moments as the track progresses, offering a much more stripped-back and soothing side to the artist’s sound and appeal than its predecessor.
The artist’s expansive imagery and deft writing comes to the fore on ‘Fire’, a track that explores the element and the profound ties that it has to humanity and our very core essence. There is a lushness to the ever-spacious instrumentation and production here that gives the artist a lot of space a wander and adventure within, and this makes for some really quirky and engrossing moments throughout the track that pair really nice with the more vulnerable and intimate facets of the sound.
The EP is closed out with ‘This Too Shall Pass’, a track that eschews the artist’s usual atmospheric tendencies for an acoustic arrangement that doubles down on this kind of intimacy and rawness, exploring humanity and the human story in much of the same way as the rest of the album. The decision to close off with an acoustic track and create such a juxtaposition with her more expansive sounds adds a real grounding nature to the EP and ties it in with these more human connections, making for a really interesting contrast to the rest of the album and a track that ties it all together nicely.
