ZOEE

                                                 "Castles in the Sand"

                                                 Independent Release

Though she’s already had plenty of success in her Australian homeland, it was with the July release of “It Ain’t Love” that Zoee really began making a splash on Nashville’s music scene and starting into her next chapter as a buzz began to swirl around her in a town that’s not known for being impressed too easily.

Continuing to ride that wave of momentum, she then followed with “This Thing” last month (September) and unveiled a purely pop driven side to her country arsenal that was every bit as modern kissed as it needed to be, while intriguingly providing a throwback feel to 80’s era pop that had us seeing her Olivia Newton-John influence shining brightly.

She now returns with “Castles in the Sand,” her third release since making landfall in Music City, and in true Zoee fashion, she reveals yet another layer of who she is as an artist and songwriter as she softens the pace through a reminiscing lyric that also subtly faces a very today issue head on.

Acoustic plucking through the instrumentation provides a simple backbeat that allows room for Zoee’s crisp, clean vocal to pull us into the lyric as she flips through the pages of an old notebook she’s found and laughs at her then dreams from her today perspective, realizing now that while she thought she had it all lined up perfectly, it was nothing more than “castles in the sand”; poetically playing on the idea that everything in life is just a series of short-lived moments ala how an oceanside sandcastle only lasts for the day before the tide rolls in.

Digging deeper into the song as it progresses forward, we see Zoee tackling the all too real issues that many face today as they battle the ups and downs that inevitably come with life, comparing it to learning how to swim against the ocean’s waves that are continually crashing in, before revealing how we often hide behind the truth of how we’re handling things to save face rather than openly discussing the help we need, as she sings (and ultimately gives us the okay to share our emotions):

“Everybody’s life seems perfect through the masks we hide behind

If you ask me how I’m doing, I’ll say I’m doing fine

The truth really is I could use a hand

Cause all I’ve been doing

Is building castles in the sand.”

Having had the opportunity to see her perform this song in person a few times now, the production that James House and Zoee have placed on this recording perfectly encapsulates all the same, heartfelt emotions that you’ll get when seeing her pouring her soul into this one behind the microphone.

Though the pace has softened in comparison to her last two releases, she continues to lean into pop sensibilities that find their place within an exciting blend of Australian country stylings fusing into Nashville flare, effectively carving out a path that walks along what is current today while also creating a refreshing uniqueness that carries a throwback feel to when pop and country first started to blur.

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis)

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