After a decade spent singing over an impressive array of producer’s dance tracks (including Loud Luxury, LP Giobbi, Tchami, and more), LA-based singer, songwriter, and DJ Kaleena Zanders released her own head-turning solo LP, Anything Goes (May 8). 

Zanders is the kind of vocalist that grips you with her intensity—but on Anything Goes she digs deep, challenging herself to do something “super intentional” and “slightly different”—a seven-track album that blends familiar genres, rhythms, and tempos into something delightfully unexpected and unique.

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“You sacrifice your mind for worthless materials / Pretending like this life is anything but spiritual.” So go the opening lyrics of the title track of this blistering, brightly burning album; your first clue that Anything Goes may not be a background listening experience.

“You should do what you dream, ’cause you’re already free to learn,” she continues on the bridge of “Anything Goes.” Surprising melodic choices ride a chameleonic song structure that stutters and shrieks, bounces and raves with a fresh mix of Big Beat, UKG, breakbeats, and electro-pop sounds. There’s even electric guitar on the track.

As the album unfolds, we’re transported to the bright lights of festival main stages, the dark corners of warehouse clubs, and the innermost monologues of modern men and women. “The Light” with Shift K3y moves shoulders and bops heads with its groovy, glitchy rave hook and euphorically gospel-esque vocals.

“Can You Imagine” featuring Bipolar Sunshine moves into an emotional, building atmosphere, pushing ever-forward through the clouds toward a future bass-tinged breakthrough as the singers tell the tale of walking away, taking your destiny in your own hands without looking for permission from other people or a green light to move on.

Each song excites with shifting drums and a playground of sonic textures, unwrapping each layer like presents for your ears. The fourth track, “Call Out My Name,” is dreamy with a wompy synth hook, while the next track, “Who We Are” (with Hayley May), digs even deeper into ballad territory with a bumpin’ beat.

From there, the listener shoots into the sky like a rocket for “Stronger Than Machines.” It’s her take on full-face EDM with a hands-in-the-air earworm tempered by introspective verses, understanding that the best drops are earned by emotional builds. 

The album closes with “Thinking of Yesterday” (featuring NO BILLS), a shuffling house tune that teases with a steady kick drum and a graceful performance from Zanders on the mic. It’s an easy-going closer, leaving one to think of the 19-minute and seven-second listen-through that just tickled your brain. 
Short and sweet, Anything Goes earns a repeat listen, if only to catch all the little quirks and thoughtful lyrics that went over your head the first time. It’s a beautiful debut album from an artist that spent the past 11 years learning the history of and exploring all the avenues of the dance music world, only to turn around and inject it with her own curiosity, artistic lens, and very powerful voice.

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