Zak Coghlan – “Lead Balloon”

Zak Coghlan released two singles into his solo run and already sounds like someone who knows what he’s doing. “Lead Balloon” hits harder than his debut. Driving drums push the track along, the guitars have genuine texture, and his vocal carries the whole thing without overselling a single moment. Recorded in Dublin, produced by Keelan O’Reilly, mixed by Philip Magee, mastered by Simon Francis. You can hear the attention in the result, and this is why I love it so much.

His first single “Composure” set things up, but this one digs into something more specific. Zak spent years fronting Irish alt-rock band Sunburn before stepping out under his own name, and that background is in the bones of “Lead Balloon” without the song feeling like a leftover. The writing is personal in a way that a lot of solo debut material never quite gets to. I keep coming back to the vocal. It’s raw without being rough, emotive without turning into a performance. That’s a harder balance to land than it looks, and he gets it right here.

Honestly, the most encouraging thing about this release is that it makes the next one feel genuinely exciting rather than just expected. Go back and spend time with “Composure” if you haven’t yet, then follow Zak on Spotify and wherever else you listen. He’s worth keeping tabs on.