What we described in a preview as “an album which forgoes electronic styles in favour of a theatrical, jazz-inflected brand of rock music,” Nick Zanca‘s forthcoming album Hindsight sees the Queens-based producer and musician release under his own name for the first time, though it is far from a solo endeavour. Zanca’s vocals and keys are supported by Lexi Bodick (bass), Sarah Galdes (drums), Mari Maurice of More Eaze (strings/pedal steel) and Steven Rogers (guitar/electronics), while the likes of Ben Chapoteau-Katz (L’Rain), Wendy Eisenberg and Nadia Hulett (Sweet Dreams Nadine) all appear as guests on the album too. This eclectic array of talented, envelope-pushing musicians help Zanca achieve the sound he desired. As he puts it: “This is the record I have been waiting to make ever since I started making them.”
Nick Zanca doesn’t waste such an ambitious sound when it comes to the lyrical side of things. Hindsight takes on some weighty themes, focusing on personal experiences within a technocapitalist world to bring political and philosophical ideas into relief. Lead single ‘Little Professor’ explored neurodivergence, contemplating the pernicious attitudes so often faced by those diagnosed and looking to reposition the trait as something valued and celebrated, while new track ‘Takes Two’ turns its attention to romance and relationships. Namely the joy and challenges of those which break with traditional monogamy. “I was drawn to write this after coming to realize that not much music has been written about non-monogamous dynamics, let alone from an affirmative perspective,” Zanca explains:
Like any other form of love, the foundation of open relationships involves emotional labor of all walks: the navigation of jealousy, the attempt to unlearn one’s attachment styles and ego, and the promotion of personal freedom and transparent communication. Put more simply, this song reflects on what it means to put in the work for the people that you love.
Watch the video directed by Zanca himself below:
Hindsight will be released on 2nd August via American Dreams and is available via Bandcamp.
