Julia Shapiro unveils new single "Death (XIII)"

"Death (XIII)" is the second single to be lifted from Zorked, after Shapiro announced the album with lead outing "Come With Me" last month.

Shapiro says of the new release, "This song was inspired by the Death tarot card. My friend Bree Mckenna (Tacocat, Childbirth) had the genius idea to put together a compilation of songs inspired by different tarot cards. She chose the Death card for me. I immediately knew I wanted it to sound super heavy (death!!!). I’d been listening to a lot of heavier slower music around that time (Jesu, DIIV, King Woman). Once I got the guitar tone I wanted, the rest came naturally. I probably wrote this song in about a day, taking inspiration from Alejandro Jodorowsky’s interpretation of the Death card (which he calls “The Nameless Arcanum”) in his book The Way of Tarot. The Death card is often feared by people who don’t fully understand its meaning, but it can actually be seen as the transformation needed in order to start fresh and cleanse yourself. In other words, it can be seen as a new beginning (which is partly why it’s the first song on the album)."

Zorked will follow Shapiro's 2019 debut solo album Perfect Version, and is co-produced by Shapiro's roommate Melina Duterte (Jay Som).

Shapiro says of the album title, "It’s funny to force people to have to say Zorked out loud. Any other title sounded pretentious."