Review: ZUZU - Queensway Tunnel
ZUZU
Queensway Tunnel
Zuzu’s debut album is full of heart and charm. With its beautiful melodies and intelligent songwriting, this love letter to Liverpool is a must-listen.
★★★★★
Zuzu has a knack for creating an upbeat Pop ‘scream-a-long’ with incredible emotional depth. Take opening track ‘Timing’, which feels like an ode to the era of Brit-Pop and wouldn’t be amiss opening a Gallagher set. Beyond its larger than life chorus though, is a story of emotional unrest. This is the key to Zuzu’s music and a major theme of the record in how she manages to effortlessly channel emotions and experiences that many don’t express, and provide reliability, comfort and a shared catharsis for her listeners.
Another example being, ‘Lie To Myself’ with its brilliant “Whatever you do, don’t tell me the truth” refrain, there’s real passion in the way in which Zuzu sings it and you’ll be swept up belting it along with Zuzu almost instantaneously, that’s a guarantee.
Whilst the record often places its heart alongside emboldened rock riffs and incredibly catchy choruses, Zuzu also isn’t afraid to put her writing centre stage with beautiful stripped back ballads such as the reflective hometown ode ‘My Old Life’ that looks back on a past relationship as it intertwines through a trek through the “banks of the Mersey”, it’s also the perfect example of her razor-sharp writing “standing in the garden of where my parents used to live, I don’t know why I come here when it makes me feel like this” is just one of many devastating lyrics tucked into the album highlight.
Anyone who has read an interview, seen Zuzu perform or even caught a glimpse of her socials will know that Zuzu has an incredible presence, and it comes as no surprise that her personality truly shines through on the record. That sense of vulnerability and an artist placing themselves into the essence of an album is something that for me elevates a good record into a truly great one. No more so is this evident on the spooky eco-crisis tackling ‘The Van Is Evil’ which grapples with innate human selfishness and greed. You can also get a great sense of who Zuzu is as a person from tracks such as ‘Toaster’ which whilst imbued with her natural sense of humour, is a showcase for her strong family values.
A self-proclaimed Swiftie, it feels kismet to have ‘Queensway Tunnel’ release on the same day as Taylor Swift’s ‘Red’ record, and her love for the singer-songwriter can be sensed delicately on doo-wop ballroom ballad ‘Endlessly Yours’ which evokes the formers own ‘Lover’. The greatest summary of the record however is the closing title track, The ‘Queensway Tunnel’ itself, an iconic feat of engineering that is as much of a landmark for Birkenhead as it is for Zuzu, a beautiful sonic-swerving bow that ties up an incredible debut record.
Zuzu’s long-awaited debut record is full of heart, personality, killer songwriting and incredible melodies. She’s a natural storyteller, and ‘Queensway Tunnel’ is one story I just couldn’t put down.
ZUZU is playing a series of release shows and album signings. She is also heading out on tour this Winter. For more information and dates visit her website here.