Music Review // ZADA "Heart of a Lion"

When the new EP, "Heart of a Lion", by ZADA first begins it has these reggae / dub undertones.  The first song is called "Leave The Show" and it feels like a dancehall song, which is something that can happen from time to time in music these days but I just don't feel is as common.  What happens next really makes the EP because musically all of these songs are diverse, yet connected, and if you are someone who has that type of sound as heard on the first song here the rhythm to it tends to stick throughout all of your songs.   

"They'll Never Find Us" has guitars come out more prominently while feeling a bit like Tracy Chapman, though there are also big beats in the chorus to give it that dance groove.  The titular track comes on third, which has more of a synth sound to it.  This song also happens to have a rap in it and so I think of the four songs on this EP it is not only the most diverse but perhaps the best representation of the overall, the glue which holds the other songs together.  There is aslo something about this titular track which just gets stuck in your head.

The last song on this EP is called "We've Been Runnin'" and it is more towards the rock-grooving side of things but as the title comes out a lot in the hook this song can also get stuck in your head.  What's brilliant about this song coming on last and this entire EP is the way in which it is all tied together in the lyrics with the general theme of running.  As the first song is about leaving the show, the second has a line which says "Run for me now" because you're headed for somewhere you cannot be found.  Of course by the last song you have the idea of running right in the title, but it is in the past tense which makes this all the more interesting because it can feel now as if the running is done.

Running away from your problems doesn't feel like you have the "Heart of a Lion", but that's why I take these lyrics to not only mean that we've been running from our problems and we aren't going to do that any more, but also on a larger scale to mean that we're going to run toward something which is better.  As the titular track says to "Fight for the cause" this is less of turning your back and running away and more like running head on into battle against those who try to oppress you.   While the music on this EP is strong enough to have casual listens, the lyrics by ZADA will leave people thinking and hopefully also taking to action.