Extended Play 026: Chase Zera - Chase Zera (Self Titled)

Despite the uncertainty in the music industry as it continues to push through the ramifications of COVID-19, Chase Zera has brought forward her self-titled debut EP. A succinct four-track collection that expands upon her collection of singles.

The opening track ‘Bring Me Down’ establishes the sonic foundation that encompasses Chase Zera's style throughout the four-track EP. The synth-based track harmoniously interweaves Chase Zera's vocal runs with chorus guitar riffs that kick off the EP with an upbeat pace that delicately balances instrumental progression and breathing space, an emphatic introduction into the four-track collection with Chase Zera's distinct infusion of house and pop.

Furthermore, Zera expands her musical repertoire and brings forward another guitar riff and a bass line that serves as the instrumental heartbeat, a trend that continues with ‘Saving Bugs’. The momentum first established with ‘Bring Me Down’ continues with another strong beat encompassed by bass lines, guitar riffs, pitched vocal layers, and synths that all work harmoniously in getting its audience grooving along. Zera lists BENEE and Aurora as key inspirations in writing metaphorically charged animal-based songs. However, ‘Saving Bugs’ lacks the expansive lyrical world-building that goes hand in hand with an immersive soundscape to achieve the immersive experience BENEE and Aurora excel at. While BENEE and Aurora utilise world-building visual imagery and an immersive soundscape, Zera grounds her lyrics with a narrow scope to pinpoint and perpetuate the key themes of tough love, everyday struggles, the significance of perseverance, and external support from one another in overcoming such obstacles throughout the track's 3 minute and 10-second runtime. Although the soundscape develops and flows well throughout its 3 minute and 10-second course, the limited world-building and visual imagery hinder the track from living up to Zera's inspirations BENEE and Aurora in lyrical world-building based on metaphorically charged animal-based songs. As a result, the lyrics' punctuation of the track's core themes leaves more to be desired and instead play second fiddle to the strong instrumental that serves as a strong foundation for lyrics with the potential of an even more immersive listening experience.

Furthermore, ‘Over Here’ establishes yet another distinct addition to Chase Zera's discography with yet another powerful bass line and an array of layered vocals by Zera herself that kick in during the chorus, creating a memorable track and introducing the stylistic choices that punctuate Zera's musical style that flows through the second half of the self-titled EP.

‘No More’ builds on the bass-fueled sound of Over Here with differentiation in theme and overall tone. The track expands upon the themes of a relationship fallen by the wayside, leaving Zera and an unmentioned lover left as nothing more than friends. The artist excels in developing mesmerising and hypnotic instrumentals for her lyrics and vocals to gracefully dance upon and hook you in with. Chase Zera, the track's pre-chorus is reminiscent of Hayden James' ‘Just a Lover’ in its presentation but expands upon the reminiscent bass line with instrumental diversification through piano inclusion and vocal layers that embellish the bass-driven soundscape with Chase Zera's signature infusion of house and pop. No More is straightforward in its deliverance of key themes throughout its lyrical progression. The repetition of ""no more than friends"" works beautifully with the bass line and percussion that flows as the heartbeat behind the EP's final track.

In conclusion, Chase Zera establishes a sonic foundation with an array of instrumentals that embellishes the artist's exceptional ability in developing an engaging soundscape and tantalising tease for future releases for fans of old to relish and fans of new to fall in love with. Zera's tracks are backed by distinct instrumentals encompassed by the harmonious relationship between her vocals, percussion, guitar riffs, and bass lines that leave each track distinguishable. However, there's prominent room for improvement in conceptual and lyrical expansion through literary techniques to accentuate the concepts and themes to match Zera's instrumentals' memorability and driving power and envelop its audience in an immersive lyrical experience that matches the artist's ever-growing collection of memorable beats. All in all, the four-track EP presents a strong and promising foot forward as 2020 draws to a close, and one can only wonder just what else Chase Zera has in store for her ever-growing audience in 2021.