• Pre-Order : Sui Zhen "Losing, Linda" LP/CD

Cascine Records


Pre-Order by 26th May 2023

Available in Yellow Vinyl and CD format!

On her alluring and unnerving new album, the Melbourne singer-songwriter adopts a digital alter-ego to explore real-life human strife.

The idea of human consciousness existing outside the body has been the focus of dystopian sci-fi from Blade Runner to Westworld, and it’s embedded in the new album from Melbourne art-pop auteur Becky Freeman—a.k.a. Sui Zhen. But unlike those works, Losing, Linda isn’t consumed by apocalyptic visions of robots taking over. Rather, the record suggests there’s something inherently flawed about attempting to live in a perfect world, and that there are certain problems for which there is no app.

Losing, Linda hits the same big pleasure points as Secretly Susan—neon-hued ’80s pop, DIY digital dub, bossa-nova balladry—but the mood hovers between ecstasy and unease. Freeman’s voice loses the post-Grimes avant-R&B smear of Secretly Susan, adopting an eerily calm and crystal-clear diction that sounds very much like an AI learning to convincingly imitate us. The drum-machine stutters of “Natural Progression” suggest a robot coming to life and getting used to its mechanical limbs, before asking itself questions like: “I’m growing hair/Do I need it anymore?”

- 8.0 rating on Pitchfork Review