Revealed on her socials post release of the artist’s singles “Butterflies” and “Thought We Were in Love,” Zoe Mina’s newest and greatest musical achievement TOO hit streaming sites Friday 22nd August, 2025. Named thus as a fun wordplay moment (and in homage to the artist’s first album, ONE) the album boasts eight meticulously crafted tracks, each with their own artistic tweaks and details.

“This album is easily the most complex, mature, and professional musical work I’ve completed. I am beyond proud of this achievement. Everything in every song has been refined and polished to better share the vision behind each one.”

Delving into the artist’s process, she shared her timeline for the release and what it was like behind the scenes for this indie name.

“Butterflies and Thought We Were in Love both had vocals recorded towards the beginning of the project, with Butterflies starting me off. While I mixed, mastered, and released Butterflies in June, I had been working on the tracklist for the LP. I knew I wanted it to be at least eight tracks, and once I’d settled on nine – to have an extra just in case – it was back to the studios for more vocals. Thought We Were in Love was the next chosen single, dropped July 25, and by then I was in the studio several times a week for lead vocals, harmonies, or do-overs. When I wasn’t in the studio, I was practicing; when I wasn’t practicing, I was working on production; and when I wasn’t producing, I was working.”

The indie artist and entrepreneur is for the most part a solo act; she does, however, work closely with Mitch Pirtle—her bassist, guitarist, drummer, and second pair of ears. Each mix and master would be referenced closely not just by the artist herself on several different setups, but Pirtle as well, the two working closely and nonstop to bring each song to its very best version.

After all of the vocals had been recorded, thus began the mixing stage. Bar a few minor tweaks, Zoe Mina had already finalized production. By July 28, the artist was mixing one to two songs a week – all the way through August – giving each song three to four days of mixing before running them through the mastering chain.

“This production style presented a learning curve for me in mastering. While I have mastered plenty of tracks before, and knew the chain for my previous songs, songs like Time and Finale required a milder hand due to more cinematic influences and I ended up using orchestral and classical mastering techniques as a result. The difference lies in the strength of compression and limiting, so the swells of the song are preserved and don’t become squashed in a modern mastering chain. I also mixed to a slightly higher level, which assists the milder, gentler method.”

Zoe Mina has been heading down a more alternative path for quite some time, with the occasional return to her quirky take on pop. Her earlier pieces “What Gives Us the Right,” “Picture Perfect,” “Hear My Plea,” and even “Black as Coal,” have an edge to the production style that has only grown more complex in TOO.

The heavier, alternative sound of the guitars and bass in the drops are emulations of bands such as Sleep Token, Issues, and Architects – bands that both Zoe Mina and Mitch Pirtle listen to avidly.

“The genre bending that Sleep Token does is inspiring, and such a good listen. I’ve been following them since they were openers, and while I’m not necessarily a metal musician, I aspire to write the kind of music that feels like a full meal. It’s art.”

“Time,” and “Finale” both showcase the artist’s flare for cinematic orchestral moments, with sweeping string sections and warm brass. Her classical background sings loud and proud in both the borderline operatic vocal moments, and dramatic music theory implementations in the composition.

“I was told a very, very long time ago that my music lies in the middle of cinematic and modern writing, and if I can find the balance, that that would be my musical signature. Through the years I’ve certainly seen glimpses of that, but it wasn’t until now that I truly felt I’d found it.”

“Time” itself has taken, well, time. Written back in December of 2017, with an elegant piano arpeggio and single melodic line, the song has been patiently waiting in the artist’s catalogue since.

“It was one of those songs that needed something, but I didn’t know what yet. So, I waited… and waited… I tried several times to produce and finish it, but nothing felt quite right. There’s a moment to push, and there’s a moment to let it simmer in the subconscious. This time, felt like the right time. The production was right, the guitars and bass were right, the breaks were right – and I’m so glad I gave it some Time.”

“Butterflies” is certainly the most light-hearted track on the album, but it’s not the only spunky track. “Gone” features Zoe Mina’s unique pop melodic style, utilizing plucked strings and other fun instrument patches alongside guitar, bass, and drums. Catchy, modern, and yet still entirely recognizable as hers, the song almost acts as a bridge between the more serious, morose moments on TOO and “Butterflies.”

“Now “Thunderstorm” was the song with unexpected last-minute adjustments. I wrote the majority of the album this year (2025) and it was one of the newest songs on there. This became apparent in the way the production, and even rearrangements of the song sections, happened all the way up until the mastering stage. I very nearly took it off the lineup, but ultimately decided to push through and I’m so glad I did because pressure turned it into the gem it was always meant to be.”

Even with the artist sharing this fun fact about “Thunderstorm,” it’s still unnoticeable which sections she rearranged – despite her also mentioning that the vocals had been recorded entirely before the rearranging, necessitating a sharp ear for precision edits to the vocal tracks.

“I did, though, remove a song from the tracklist. As I had said previously, there were nine originally to be shaved down to eight, so this was intentional. The song will appear on a future release, though I will be keeping the details of that to myself for a little longer,” the artist laughed – a mischievous grin accompanying the exciting news that there is more to come.

TOO is available on all streaming platforms, including Apple Music, YouTube, Spotify, and more.