Cubicle Zombie, the recently released five-track EP from newcomer Weather McNabb, is an unusual fusion of alternative rock and electronic music paired with jazz elements and pop undertones. From the starting note of the first song to the last note on the album, the music grabs your attention and draws you in. McNabb’s voice is soothing, smooth, and silky. Similarly, her delivery is nice and melodic, but that’s not to say her songs are slow or predictable. On the contrary, the allure of Cubicle Zombie is that it’s very original.
McNabb has managed to do something that is fairly rare in the music world - she created a product that’s hard to compare to anything specific. Normally, on an entire EP, at least some tracks may distinctly remind you of other songs, but none of the ones on her album do. The content of her songs is also not what may be called average. If she did write a love song, you would have to listen to hard and engage in mental gymnastics to identify one as such.
“Time Machine” seems to be about someone having an archaic understanding of what modern women are capable of. The title track “Cubicle Zombies” can easily be about a dreary morning at a dead end office job; the track, more than any other also goes perfectly with the album’s cover art. “User Error” suggests that someone the singer cares about caused a bad situation and she is loosing sleep over it, thinking back on the details. “War Paint” is likely about having to battle through a delusional sense of conformity. “Adapt” is also about having to adjust to unmet expectations.
Holding down office jobs before she finally decided “for a larger push into music [in 2016, she connected] with Boston indie music legend and producer Peter Moore (Count Zero, Think Tree). Over the next two years, the team crafted seven songs together, eventually whittling the list down to five for Weather's debut EP.” The resulting album is a great collection of original and unexpected songs that are definitely worthy of your attention. Even if the music is not inline with your taste, chances are you will be able to appreciate the ingenuity of what you hear on Cubicle Zombie.
Note* Album provided for objective review by our partners.