Rhythm Review: Ecca Vandal's ‘LOOKING FOR PEOPLE TO UNFOLLOW Finds Its Identity Beyond Punk’
Nine years is a long time between albums, particularly for an artist who has never been easy to categorize. Since emerging with tracks like "White Flag" and later her acclaimed 2017 self-titled debut, Ecca Vandal has occupied a unique space within Australian music, pulling from punk, hip-hop, alternative rock, R&B and electronic music. Born in South Africa to Sri Lankan Tamil parents before relocating to Melbourne, Vandal's musical upbringing was similarly eclectic, moving from gospel and jazz to soul, hip-hop and R&B. That has become one of the defining traits of her work on her latest album.
On that same note, she’s shared stages with artists as varied as Incubus, Deftones, Limp Bizkit and Sampa The Great while steadily expanding her audience beyond any single genre community. Yet despite that momentum, a second album never arrived. LOOKING FOR PEOPLE TO UNFOLLOW comes nearly a decade later, carrying the weight of that absence while reaffirming many of the qualities that made Vandal such a compelling artist in the first place.
The album explores themes of identity, burnout, self-expression and personal reinvention, reflected both in its title and in the restless way it moves between genres. Across seventeen tracks, Vandal continues to blend punk, hip-hop, R&B, electronic music and global influences into a record that constantly shifts shape without ever feeling directionless. What makes the album successful, however, is not simply its willingness to experiment but how Vandal's voice remains a constant through every stylistic turn, giving the album a sense of identity even as the production moves in wildly different directions.
More Than a Punk Record
The album opens with a run of tracks that immediately establish its energy. Songs like "EYES SHUT," "SORRY! CRASH!," "VERTICAL WORLDS," and "BLEED BUT NEVER DIE" lean heavily into punk and alternative rock influences, driven by distorted guitars, aggressive percussion, and commanding vocal performances.
The first half is consistently enjoyable. The sequencing keeps the momentum moving forward, making the album remarkably easy to listen to despite its 17-track runtime. Even when individual songs do not immediately stand apart from one another, the record itself rarely loses its sense of direction.
Still, some of these earlier moments occasionally feel less distinctive than the material that follows. While the production is a standout, there are points where it becomes easier to imagine other artists also occupying these instrumentals. Certain tracks evoke the same space occupied by artists like Jean Dawson and other contemporary acts that blend punk and hip-hop influences. However, that is never enough to make the songs feel weak. If anything, it highlights how much of the album's personality comes from Vandal herself.
Among the opening run, "BLEED BUT NEVER DIE" stands out as one of the strongest examples of that approach. The track balances defiance and vulnerability while showcasing her charisma. Drawing directly from the physical and emotional realities of menstruation, Vandal approaches the subject with equal parts humor, frustration, and confidence.
Yet the true standout of the first half arrives with "MOLLY." Built around a hypnotic chord progression that loops throughout the song, "MOLLY" is easily one of the album's most memorable moments created through repetition in both its production and lyrics. It is easy to understand why the track has emerged as a fan favorite. Just as importantly, it serves as one of the turning points for the album itself.
Strength in the B-Side
The transition from "MOLLY" into "OKAY NOT TO BE OKAY" is one of several moments that demonstrate how carefully sequenced this record is. Throughout the album, tracks flow naturally into one another, allowing dramatic genre shifts to feel surprisingly natural.
"LEVITATE 1 + 2" is perhaps the clearest example of this. Arriving after an opening stretch dominated by louder and more abrasive material, the track feels like a breath of fresh air and one of the deeper cuts on the project. This track leans furthest into R&B and hip-hop influences further than anywhere else on the record, while showcasing Vandal’s ability to deliver R&B-esque vocal performances.
Too Good for Interludes
Strangely, one of the album's biggest frustrations is that some of its most exciting ideas disappear almost as quickly as they arrive. The title track, "LOOKING FOR PEOPLE TO UNFOLLOW," contains some of the most distinctive production on the entire record. The pairing of Vandal's vocal chops with the track's electronic textures creates a sound that feels entirely unique within the album's broader sound, yet the song functions largely as an interlude, ending almost as soon as it begins.
That becomes a recurring pattern throughout the project. Several of the album's most compelling moments feel intentionally cut short, serving as bridges between larger songs rather than being allowed to fully develop on their own. It is not an issue that undermines the record, but it does leave the occasional feeling that certain ideas deserved more space.
At the same time, those brief moments contribute to the album's pacing. The transitions between tracks remain consistently engaging. Songs like "THEN THERE'S ONE," with its unexpected boom-bap drums, and "DO IT ANYWAY," which combines Afrobeats and aggressive vocal delivery, continue to demonstrate her versatility.
Strong Replay Value
After nearly a decade away from album releases, Vandal returns with a record that feels less concerned with over-explaining itself and more concerned with staying memorable. Even with the absence of the full project, several songs on this album are strong enough to stand on their own. If the opening tracks remind listeners why Ecca Vandal stood out in the first place, the latter stretch suggests her most compelling ideas may lie in the spaces between genres rather than within them.