New Zealand’s Pickle Darling is back with crumple zones, a companion EP that reimagines tracks from his previous album Bots. While Bots was meticulously assembled, this new collection embraces a more immediate, live-inspired energy, offering alternate takes, acoustic reinterpretations, and a collaboration with Father/Daughter labelmate, Anna McClellan.

“massive everything (alternate version)” explores the ways we protect ourselves utilizing our emotional crumple zones. “The original version of the song is much more synthetic, but I recently discovered Nashville guitar tuning and was playing everything with that tuning. I wanted a lush, guitar filled version of this song to exist in the world too” shares Mayo. Delicate finger picking carries “human bean (alternate version),” a cute, stripped down rendition of the original. “pinwheels (featuring Anna McClellan)” is a long-awaited collaboration brought to life in a delightfully messy, acoustic-first approach. Anna’s vocals were recorded casually on a phone, background sounds intact, evoking a sense of immediacy and nostalgia, the kind of small, carb-filled comforts that define personal memory.

Pickle Darling
Crumple Zones
Tracklisting
Father/Daughter Records

1. human bean (alternate version)
2. pinwheels (feat. Anna McClellan)
3. massive everything (alternate version)

Order Crumple Zones by Pickle Darling HERE