The Minneapolis-based musician Zora Grey is releasing her debut album as ZORA, Z1, in June. She announced it a few weeks ago with the scorching, snotty “RUNNITUP,” and today she’s back with a song that shows off a different side of her sound, the contemplative and finessed “HAPPIEST I’VE EVER BEEN.” It’s centered around a snaking guitar line and builds to a crackling declaration that ZORA is the happiest that she’s ever been even while professing otherwise.

“‘Happiest I’ve Ever Been’ was one of the first songs I wrote for this album. I had a pretty jarring mental health scare in the summer of 2021, and landed myself in the hospital over the 4th of July weekend,” ZORA explains in a statement. “Once I got out, I used songwriting as a way to cope with my circumstances and speak up about what I had gone through, no matter how intense it was. I wanted to make a song that sounded carefree, fun, and relaxing, accompanied by some of the darkest lyrics you’ve ever heard. Haha.”

The track features a verse from Myia Thornton. Check it out below.

And here’s “RUNNITUP”:

TRACKLIST:
01 “INTRO”
02 “ALL AROUND THE WORLD”
03 “HAPPIEST I’VE EVER BEEN” (Feat. Myia Thornton)
04 ‘BURN” (Feat. Peytie)
05 “CLIFF”
06 “ALONE…”
07 “SCOUNDREL”
08 “RUNNITUP” (Feat. Myia Thornton)
09 “PERFECT”
10 “ENDOFTHEROAD”
11 “ICARUS”

Z1 is out 6/17 via Get Better Records. Pre-order it here.