Zubin doesn’t really sound like anyone else in the emo-tinged world of alternative rap. For listeners, there are often two options: whiny songs emphasized by whiny voices, or songs about being down in the dumps that sound gravelly and guttural. Instead, this North Philadelphia native dwells in a high, thin range of wilting malaise. Zubin’s voice is uncommonly pretty and clear, and his vibrato is his unmistakable signature: quivering and unnerving, like a terrified puppy.
Perhaps, at 29, Zubin has a different frame of nostalgia than his younger vocalist peers, who are mostly reworking pop-punk and post-hardcore sounds they weren’t so lucky to live through the first time. Six years ago, he began his career in the dancey soft-pop trio Worshyper, playing keys and producing but never singing lead. He was making bloopy mashups of Disclosure and Destiny’s Child when he was discovered by the production collective Working on Dying, who invited him to start singing on their dark rap songs. It’s different, but his trajectory is part what makes his presence so vital: In a scene that can now feel homogeneous, or, worse, redundant, Zubin adds much-needed complexity — maybe even a feeling of hope.
Heavy Down Pour is a testament to his draw. Comparable to iLoveMakonnen’s self-titled 2014 EP—which elevated the idiosyncratic rapper’s status for the simple existence of songs with Metro Boomin and Sonny Digital—Zubin’s latest project attracts an elite cast of collaborators. The enigmatic producer Suicideyear, emo-rap forebear Clams Casino, and current leading light Nedarb Nagrom all contribute beats. There are five guest vocalists across six songs, including a particularly inspired appearance by Alice Glass, alongside Gothboiclique members Wicca Phase Springs Eternal and Fish Narc. Zubin is clearly a favorite among people who worked with Lil Peep, even though—or perhaps partly because—they sound nothing alike.
In both emotion and pitch, Zubin has an unfortunately narrow range, a weakness that’s exaggerated here. The constellation of collaborators gives Heavy Down Pour special weight, but sometimes its leader can feel like a guest on his own project. Earlier this year, Zubin and Nedarb released a superior and mostly feature-less EP called Misery, which gave him far more space to stretch his legs, shaping and reshaping his uneasiness until the hooks sounded like pop songs. Here, the most impactful and ambitious tracks, “Sinking” and “Dark Alley,” both feature two guests. These are high-level posse cuts, but it’s none of the singers' best work: While their different voices are made more distinct, they’re also reduced to archetypes
Where Zubin shines is how he conveys his feeling. Heavy Down Pour is an unrelenting breakup album. On “Sidelines,” self-produced over simple guitar, his voice is layered and interlocking, with a soft melody and texture almost evoking early Bon Iver. Other producers push him closer to his limits. “Stay Down” pits Zubin against a monstrous synth that might have knocked him flat, yet he conveys fragility while somehow sounding ten feet tall. It’s a bit artificial, with AutoTune honing his notes and dialing up the shakiness in his voice. But Zubin is a melodramatic singer: it’s only fitting that over-the-top lines like “I tried to look on the bright side and my eyes started bleeding” are rendered even more superhuman. You don’t need to shout when your whispers can turn into earthquakes.
