Rock diva offers seasonal indie pop
Without intriguing announcements and other advertising fuss, Zemfira unveiled an EP called “Ah” and was able, with the help of three new songs and one not very much, to generate a bunch of questions that are likely to remain unanswered.
All this is very much in the spirit of Zemfira. Acting unexpectedly and not explaining anything. However, by the standards of the singer, this year was very eventful for her. A full-fledged album “Borderline”, which gave rise to almost a holivar in the network among fans of haters and casual listeners. There was also the single Goodbye, a studio version of a live recording released back in 2019 after the singer performed at a festival in Dubai. And also a recent post by the singer filled with very old-fashioned, but more than logical reflections on the loss of respect for artists and just people. And now the EP.
It has four songs. “Ah” as the title track, “Mail”, “Melodrama” and the already mentioned “Goodbye”. As a bonus, the cover, on which the singer is captured with a young man, whose persona immediately caused a stream of rumors and speculations. The intrigue, however, did not last long, because people interested in everything related to Zemfira recognized the guitarist, keyboardist and composer Dmitry Emelyanov. Probably, as a musician who works with the singer, he made a significant contribution to new songs, but this again is not commented on.
With the songs themselves, everything is much clearer. After the gloomy, nervous and in places very difficult for perception album “Borderline” Zemfira seemed to go on vacation and, as if in a summer cottage, she wrote several cute girlish songs. No tricky mixes, not too much hidden meaning. As if an artist, accustomed to working with complex shades, suddenly sketched a pencil drawing. Good, meaningful, story-driven, but not very tricky.
However, even here there are discoveries that are especially pleasant to make after the same Borderline. There were also bright songs (although they were in a clear minority), but here Zemfira with such ease and pleasure utters the phrase “The air rushed through the window, the stars are shining above the balcony, Lord, what a beauty” that all the depressive moods about which there were so many said after the release of “Borderline”, as if they were in a past life.
Probably someone will start to assume that the singer has found a good psychotherapist. A more reasonable version is that Zemfira, as an author, simply knows how to do things differently. And there is nowhere to load heavier and write songs for summer grace. “Ah” – music for the evening in a pleasant company on a beautiful veranda, with candles and wine. These songs, most likely, do not pretend to long life, but they have a chance to become soundtracks of the last month of summer, if there is even a hint of good weather in this month.
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