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Photo: Sandra Jamaleddine

The alt-pop lover of late loves to loathe. Whether it’s doing your best Hayley Williams impression as you croon over male manipulators or putting a fresh coat of shine on that diamond-encrusted footwear, there’s plenty to sneer at in today’s landscape of hot acts and even hotter burns. For Zolita, well-versed in both camps at this point, the frustration is found when she takes a step back to look at where she is versus where her former lover went.

Her newest track, “Bye Bye Baby,” does a number on that former boy-toy as she stomps and hollers all over his new fling, one observably younger than him that he can project a mental age onto rather than his physical one. The stereotype is common, yet the old feeling is given a new sound. Reminiscent of the Sheryl Crows of the world yet still in the modern country bubble of acts like Dasha, there’s a lot to unpack in how Zolita perceives and presents herself on a track like this.

"'Bye Bye Baby' is a ruthless breakup song about an all too common stereotype - your ex finding someone younger and more naive instead of growing up themselves, shares Zolita. "The lyrics are reminiscent of the passive aggressiveness of the 90’s, but sonically it’s sunny, relaxed and reminiscent of my favorite Sheryl Crow songs." 

There’s some push and pull here exemplified through the rest of Zolita's recent releases. She’s seething at the thought of an ex with someone else yet freely in her own lane trying to carve her path of redemption after a split. While there’s plenty of blame to go around, there’s also pain to be had on both sides. Here she's as multifaceted in emotion as she is in genre-blending.

Currently wrapping up her headlining U.S. tour full of panache and pageantry, Zolita is already becoming one of the more promising acts in young alternative music by the day. With seeds in so many different gardens, who knows what color she’ll blossom into next.

Watch the "Bye Bye Baby" lyric video below: