New Zealand alt-indie rock darlings Yumi Zouma have released their new single “Drag”.
Released alongside an announcement for their upcoming fifth album, No Love Lost To Kindness, “Drag” sees Yumi Zouma try on an altogether darker, heavier sound than the sparkling dream-pop that listeners might be expecting from albums past.
Written between tours, “Drag” makes good use of a more grunge-inspired sound, with muddy bass, industrial-style synth, and sees frontwoman Christie Simpson ponder on the feeling of grief over lost time and difficulties with trying to deal with her late-discovered ADHD.
According to Simpson, “for months, I was overwhelmed with grief, joy, frustration, acceptance, relief, and struggle. Things didn’t always feel easier post-diagnosis – often harder, even now. This song is a signal to my inner child, and a manifestation of acceptance. It’s a goodbye to the life I lived so long ‘inside the drag’. It’s about releasing myself from the struggle, about letting go”.
This comes through in both the way the song builds up to a triumphant, loud finale, as well as in the lyrics ad Simpson sings “I had to sit on my hands/stay still, tied down/I had to force myself” and the repeat mantra in the chorus of “i can’t go on living inside the drag”. It’s a familiar feeling for anybody who has tried and failed to understand a struggle when you know what the problem is, but aren’t getting the right help for it.
Yumi Zouma’s album No Love Lost To Kindness will be released on January 30.
