Six songs, one story, told in order. Zinn built Black Rose so the tracklist follows her life with her father from childhood to the present, which makes it a project best heard from start to finish. Here’s how the chapters unfold.
“Turning Into You.” The opener is a confession most people would rather keep to themselves. Zinn grew up treating her father as the blueprint for who not to become. Then she noticed she was taking on his traits anyway, because becoming like him was the only way to hold her ground against him. It’s a bracing first track, and it tells you right away this EP won’t go easy on anyone.
“Breaking Point.” Many listeners already know this one. It climbed to No. 2 on the US iTunes Singer/Songwriter chart in July. In sequence, it reads as the moment the pressure finally becomes too much. Its message is simple and hard to argue with: everyone has a limit.
“Lego Parts.” The most painful song on the record, and Zinn says it was one of the hardest to write. The title captures the image: father and daughter kept rebuilding the relationship from the pieces they genuinely loved about each other, and kept watching it fall apart. It quietly calls back to “Breaking Point.” Some things can only be put back together so many times.
“Leads Back to You.” The story jumps to adulthood. Released as a single in August to coverage from NY Weekly and OK! Magazine, this track takes inventory of everything Zinn inherited, good and bad, from small preferences to patterns that follow her into her own relationships. It doesn’t pass judgment. It just admits the connection is there.
“Black Rose Bouquet.” Here the EP looks forward. After years of being made to feel unworthy of love, Zinn decides she still believes in it, and in herself. It’s the record’s ballad-leaning moment and its most hopeful one, and it’s already a favorite on playlists like “i miss my ex SO MUCH.”
“Worst Enemy.” The closer turns the camera around. Her father has been gone for a long time, but for 13 years she has kept repeating his words to herself. The final realization is that the only person still bringing her down is her, and that she can stop.
Writing a project this exposed took a lot out of everyone in the room. “Each day was an emotional therapy session digging deep into topics and emotions I have been suppressing and avoiding for the last 20 years,” Zinn said. She wrote alongside her manager Nick Dre, Erik “DobleU” Barragan, and Lil Eddie, whose songwriting credits include JoJo and Maluma. David Bonilla Jr. and the Elarte7 agency produced, and Adam Josh mixed and mastered. The sound throughout is alt-pop with a 2000s streak running through it.
If your rotation already includes Paramore, Evanescence, Bebe Rexha, or Miley Cyrus, add this one. We’d love to see Zinn share a song with any of them someday.
Hear all six chapters on Spotify and follow along with Zinn on Instagram.
