Anime Zayy Releases EP "Guns and Roses"

Holidays are hotspots for new music drops, and, whether for good or bad reasons, Valentine’s Day is one of the most inspiring. Local upstart Anime Zayy has been releasing music as a V-Day tradition for a while, including last year’s EP The Private Garden and a release this week, Guns and Roses.

The Guns and Roses EP opens with a strong R&B vibe, while maintaining the sound established fans would expect of Anime Zayy. What’s different is the level of maturity in the overall production, especially compared to last year’s V-Day EP. The polished presentation here was seen in Anime Zayy’s album Anime World, and at the time of that release it was clear the artist had found his sound but still had a lot of positive growth in his future. Here’s the growth.

Like Anime World, the whole project leaves you feeling as if you’ve been floating through space. “Watch My Heart!” features a lot of echoing sounds and adlibs that create a bubble outside of time for the listener to exist in for a moment. It moves into the sexually charged middle track “Red Roses,” which reaches an energetic peak building in the first half of the EP before falling off into the darker song “Isolated.” As the final song, “Universal Relaxation” is suitably named and ends on a very mellow, soft note. Although the entire project is heavily love-themed, it moves through the different stages and feelings of love in a very raw and relatable way.

The project is a short but not too short listen at 22 minutes, and to really feel immersed in the world Anime Zayy creates, you should give it a full listen all the way through. One of the biggest strengths of this artist is his ability to paint worlds with his music.

Be sure to stream Guns and Roses now, and follow Anime Zayy on Instagram for more content.