Welcome to my whole album deep dive of The Butterfly Effect, Zoee's debut album which she released on her birthday, Independence Day! You can read about Side 1 of the new album here on Tennessee Vibes. I have written about a couple of these songs before, but I have brought the second half tracks together below to give you a comprehensive article about the rest of the album.
PAUL DETTMANN
True Crime
True Crime opens Side B. How could Zoee have known about Crime Guy? True Crime starts off telling us the story of a dead boyfriend or husband. He's wearing Zoee's bloodstained shirt with another girl's lipstick on the collar. Zoee seems to have a three hour gap in her memory. Was she drugged or drunk? There was a lot of Patron tequila that night.
Either way the sheriff seems to think she did the deed. Next thing she has to talk to the county shrink. The shrink seems to blame the tequila for her murderous temper. Then they find the gun in the river with her print on the trigger. The best advice is to blame madness and hope it keeps her out of the can. It won't.
This song stands out to me because it shows that Zoee loves a dark story as much as anyone else. We all know that women are drawn to true crime even more than men. Like ghost stories, they are wintry tales. This album shows a range far broader than the early singles, which were light summer songs in the main.
Little Voice
I really love Little Voice because it seems to refer to Zoee's struggles to silence her doubts. The little voice is in her head. He's not real, but he's very powerful, and not in a good way.
A little voice inside my head
It keeps me up when I lay in bed
I try to drown it out with sound but I'm listening again
It's a stream of consciousness
More like a river or an ocean
And it's telling me to jump right in but I'm stuck here in the sand
If this is about worrying through the night and not being able to sleep then I love it even more. It was my own sleep issues that led me to Tennessee music in bitter February, and fitting that Zoee has similar issues from time to time. It's a quiet, reflective song.
Jackie
Jackie is a song about female friendship, about what goes on when the men let the team down. Oh this one is catchy as hell, perhaps the catchiest on the entire album. The reference to Ben and Jerry, coming after the Patron mention, makes me think a sync deal might be appropriate!
Jacqueline called me at half past ten
She's said she's standing in a cloud of dust again
Broken as the day she let him in
She threw her hands up and said she's done with men
A little distraction from all that has happened might be what she needs
We all know a Jacqueline don't we? But then she was there for Zoee before. Perhaps we all have a little Jackie in us. I just wonder what they expect from us? They just cannot understand how basic we are. We really are as basic as: food, beer, sport, movies. We all have a different order, but that's the be all end all. Get used to it.
Six 6 Six
This is one of the singles but for various reasons I had not heard it very much before the album came out. I now realise I have been avoiding it for complicated reasons. One way or another, Zoee is obsessed with this six-foot, six-pack, six-figure office worker. It's hard to fathom. He looks sort of okay, but he sounds as boring as hell.
He's got me stripped down to a T
That man is my obsession
And I'm guilty of confession
He's a six foot
Six pack
Six figure rebel
With that slick back James Dean face of a god
The one piece of good news is that this infatuation will never last. I enjoyed I'll Have What He's Having because it was obvious Zoee was playing a role. In this song, I fear it was all too real. It's a fabulous song, catchy, one of the earliest singles released late in 2024 along with Little Voice. It's very loud and drummy for those of you who prefer lots of volume.
Supernova
A fitting end to a very strong debut album. It's reflective, slower than the 666 belter. We get to see just how strong Zoee's voice is in this one. It's so clear! Just an acoustic guitar and some distant keyboards. It's not the explosive riot I expected from a song of this title.
You'll lose your mind
Get lost in time
There's nothing like love
And what it does
I want to say this is the real Zoee, but it's not the whole picture. No Australian was ever this peaceful. I think Zoee is all of the 10 characters in this album: all of them are Zoee, but not the whole Zoee. We get to know her a little better with each slice of the story, but she's not going to give us everything.
Reflections on Side B
I always try to retain some objectivity in these articles, and to stick to the music where possible, but it's not easy. I think my connection to Zoee stems from more than the music. She's Australian with a long layover in the UK, which perhaps means I feel a sort of affinity there.
But she really does work so hard, doing so many different roles as an independent artist, with such a spring in her step, that neutrality goes out the window. Everyone around her just wants her to succeed. I think she is already succeeding by her own lights, but I think there are awards and stardom within reach. It's an exciting time to start listening if you have not heard Zoee's music before.
You can stream the new album below or on your usual streaming service. You can also buy on physical media.
