Zandi Holup is More Than You Can Handle
Zandi is an American and has recently signed to a record label. But that name! I am told it originates in eastern Europe. There is also some kind of Swedish vibe here. Pennsylvania can be like that so
I live near a village called Penn in Buckinghamshire, England. Penn is an interesting name in America. I was really sad to find out that my Penn has no connection to William Penn, the English Quaker who founded Philadelphia on the Delaware River, gave Pennsylvania its name and was an early voice pushing for making the USA a single federal entity. William Penn was not an official Founding Father but he certainly played his part. I like to think that Zandi Holup is the artist-writer-actor she is because of her European ancestry. It cheers me up anyway.
It's fair to say that Zandi Holup is an overachiever. All the best people are. They burn bright and early, grow up faster than the rest of us, and have a lot longer to reflect and regret certain decisions or actions. They gather a lifetime of experience before they hit 30 and then spend their long lives sharing it all with us. Believe me, you're in for a ride. So many artists are compared to Dolly. This time it's genuine.
My first introduction was an Instagram reel of Zandi playing pool in a bar and almost shouting into the lens that she's way better than the shit she's dating. It was an eye opener. It's always the lyrics that interest me in the end, but her voice! There's a #ZFG attitude. She's sad, the song is wistful. She wishes it wasn't like this. But in the end she knows she's not wrong. The trouble is on the other side. If you can't let me do me then this won't work.
That's the trouble with men, and most especially American men. They want all the cake without the effort. Their tendency is to shield and hide beauty and want to keep it for themselves. It's a form of greed as well as insecurity. It's a sign of weakness. Greed and envy are both seven deadly sins with good reason. Nothing will push this girl away faster than some misguided paternalistic approach like that. Hard as it must surely be, the only way to make this work is to let her do whatever the hell she wants. It takes real balls to pull that off.
Have a listen. Start with Go Find Less below. Join her list to hear about the new album because every single track is a banger. This is absolute top drawer quality from an artist with a long and successful future. Oh! And she gigs regularly with Steve Earle, one of my all-time favourites and most other people's too. There's no better sign of quality.
