East-coast raised, Nashville-based and self-titled sad songwriter Zandi Holup releases a gut-punch of a lyrical debut album ‘Wildflower' with Big Loud. These eleven stories reach into a dark place but provide cracks of light with their delectable melodies and tone.
‘Wildflower' gave me that delicious feeling of hearing an album from a new (to me) artist, where every song just swelled, until I felt like I’ve always known their body of work; you may have caught her performances at C2C and Black Deer fest in 2024. I sadly, did not.
Zandi cites Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan as inspirations, and has opened for Steve Earle, Amanda Shires and Midland. Caught somewhere between decades of songwriting depths and a huge TikTok platform, Zandi delivers a burst of Kacey Musgraves lyricism with raw vocals.
Wildflower opens with ‘All That’s Left is Me’ a steel-laced ballad with music worthy of a classic western film, soaring and swooping with the rocky landscape, walloping you with honest lyrics like “I got to feel the pain to set it free” which set the tone for the album. A kick drum ends the song with the echo of the title and an additional person.
Emerging crowd favourite ‘Dirty Wings’ follows, a mid-tempo redemption song, a white-cotton-dress lass looking for an entrance to heaven despite a past edged with sin. Iconic images of the country Americana trope, sung with gravelly intent.
We’re not even at the best tracks yet.
‘Go Find Less’ delivers a clever, naughty-adjacent innuendo, thanks to a well-timed breathy and musical pause between “go” and “find” a story of a confident woman not settling for changing herself for another; “Am I too much, or are you just not enough?”
Title track ‘Wildflower’ is a softer, mandolin-based ballad, acknowledging a young woman who doesn’t quite fit her Sunday best, because she’s a non-conforming wildflower, growing wild and free. This is the anthem for any young person who hasn’t yet quite found their way.
With over 4 million views on Spotify alone, ‘Gas Station Flowers’ is the song that first highlighted Zandi’s talent and is the first heartbreaking song of the album, of someone who would rather be the welcome mat for the wrong one, than being alone, grateful to call the carnations her own. Zandi’s raspy vocal delivery of this all-too-well-known story really drives the heartbreak home.
The relationship dramas continue in the family tree of ‘Runs In The Family’. On the surface Zandi’s voice sings a jaunty nostalgic song, but the juxtaposition of being the generation trying to break free from domestic troubles will be catnip to Kacey Musgrave fans.
The two strongest tracks on the album are the final two; ‘Mary Jane’ requires careful listening for the oh, wow moment of life’s twist and turns. It’s like reading a poem and catching all the meanings at once. And then you play it again.
It’s album closer ‘Things I’ll Never Forget’ that moved the 4 to a 5 star rating. You can hear the pain of the solo girl at the daddy-daughter dance in Zandi’s voice, guitar, fiddle and lyrics. Stunning.
Read our post-C2C2024 interview with Zandi to find out her thoughts on visiting the UK and touring with Steve Earle.
Track list: 1. All That's Left Is Me 2. Dirty Wings 3. Go Find Less 4. Wildflower 5. Gas Station Flowers 6. Runs In The Family 7. Doing the Time 8. Cowgirls Don't Cry 9. Mountain Man 10. Mary Jane 11. Things I'll Never Forget Record Label: Big Loud Release date: 1st August Buy ‘Wildflower' right here
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