by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
It’s been four long years since we heard from Halfsour and while we don’t know what the future holds in store for the band, Zoë Wyner has been busy writing for Zowy, a new solo project. Taking shape over the past year, Beware Magical Thinking is the first release under the new moniker, due out January 12th via Seattle’s Lost Sound Tapes (22° Halo, The Natvral, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart). The project, both self-recorded at home and recorded together with Brad Kreiger at Big Nice, finds Wyner handling all the instrumentation, with a vision that feels beautifully nuanced as it revolves around soft melodies, sustained synths, and plenty of electronic layering. There’s an emphasis on the mechanical element on Zowy’s lead single and title track.
Built on a programmed snare heavy beat, twitching percussion that sounds like bugs chirping in the summertime, and a bed of whirring synths, Wyner gives herself a lush backdrop for her guitar and vocals, the orchestral grace of the song a framework for her ruminating lyrics. As she reflects on memories hidden and torn in the dim light of winter, she eventually lands on “the day I slipped into the storm” and we’re left reeling. It’s a song that feels like a flicker of half remembered moments spent waiting for something that might never come. With the occasional harmony and a vibrant bed of foggy synths, Zowy feels immediate yet contemplative. The video, directed by Ariana Ratner, is focused on nature and the still beauty of a breezy day.