Zella Day has been at this game a long time. She grew up in Arizona picking tunes of Dylan and Elvis on her acoustic guitar at her parents’ local coffee shop. In 2011, her stripped-down cover of Jack White’s “Seven Nation Army” climbed the Hype Machine charts, launching her professional career. What’s new for her is working with her band, which only formed in the last year.

Since then she has released a handful of singles (“1965,” “Sweet Ophelia,” “East of Eden”) in anticipation for her first EP, due out this year. “East of Eden” follows the model she set with “Sweet Ophelia”: a pop anthem ready for the summer—and ready for remixes, too. What sets it apart though, is the way the listener falls into the chorus set at half the tempo. Her band lays the groundwork to hoist up her doleful voice singing about her struggle and search for escape. Even for those not used to indulging in pop, Zella Day’s tenderness and crooning will catch your attention. 

About The Author

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Hailing from the great expanse of Indiana, Andrew Conley brings to Jonk Music his lifelong passion for music. With a history of incessant writing, he wields his pen as if he withdrew it, King-Arthur style, from stone. When not doing musical things, you can find him running his innovation space, 100state.