Arizona native turned Los Angeles denizen Zella Day is a soulful if fairy-like singer/songwriter who anoints her poetic, bohemian anthems with boombastic drops of indie electronica, folk, and bluesy, symphonic balladry. Day's full-length debut, 2015's
Kicker, is a rootsy and engaging showcase for her pop theatricality, taking equal parts inspiration from
Britney Spears and
Florence + the Machine. With her dusty coo of a voice and her
Keira Knightley-at-Bonnaroo style, Day sometimes feels more like a fashion model turned singer -- not a bad thing. There's a fine tradition of hippie-esque models and actresses proving themselves adept at the art of pop songcraft, or at least singing catchy pop aperitifs. Jane Birkin,
Marianne Faithfull, and
Nico all fit the description and certainly come to mind while listening to
Kicker. Or course, so do many of Day's similarly inclined contemporaries including
Ellie Goulding,
Lorde, and Lana Del Rey. Helping flesh out the proceedings are producers
Wally Gagel and
Xandy Barry (aka
Wax LTD.), who frame Day's voice with gigantic, Florence Welch-style kickdrum and snare beats, Teutonic synths, and flagrantly cinematic orchestral backdrops. Subsequently, tracks like the yearning "Jerome" and the icy "Ace of Hearts" both drip with an infectious, hooky energy. If there's a through-line with all these artists, from Birkin to Welch to Del Rey to Day, it's the lyrical allusions to pop iconography and the reappropriation of rock and R&B swagger by such fatalistic ingenues. Icons factor heavily in Day's music, and cuts like "East of Eden," "The Outlaw Josey Wales," and "Sweet Ophelia" find her hanging her lyrical hooks on several well-known historical figures, both real and fictional. Elsewhere, Day borrows the operatic thrill of
Kate Bush on "High" and recalls
Christina Aguilera's "Genie in a Bottle" on the campy, hip-hop-informed "Hypnotic." Ultimately, whether drawing upon icons of the past or present, Day remains the center of attention with
Kicker.
