There is such a uniqueness when it comes to UK pop punk. It feels like there is an unspoken formula that artists of this genre have mastered, a sonic chemistry that carries through generations and across boroughs.
The culture itself seems to nurture a certain kind of grit and melody. Whether you are an artist just starting out or one of the genre’s veterans, that distinct blend of rebellious rhythm and melodic melancholy feels timeless.
It is more than a sound. It is a way of being, an energy that pulses through old rehearsal rooms, student flats, and late-night jam sessions.
First Encounter with DellaXOZ
About a month ago, I stumbled upon an Instagram reel of a young artist strumming her guitar, singing with a tone that felt both fragile and fearless.
The video was short, barely a minute long, but something about the way she played stopped me mid-scroll.
The song was called “The Money Song,” and the artist was DellaXOZ. Within seconds, I could tell there was something special in her delivery, a voice that carried the tension between laughter and exhaustion, joy and quiet frustration.
Roots That Shape a Sound
Born Daniella Lubasu in Bolton, a suburb of Manchester, DellaXOZ’s artistry feels like a reflection of her roots. Growing up, she was surrounded by the sounds of her Congolese heritage while also absorbing the UK’s vibrant indie rock culture.
Her father introduced her to the heavy guitars of 1970s rock while her mother exposed her to the power of melody through the pop icons of the 2000s, such as Rihanna and Beyoncé.
These two worlds, rock and rhythm, guitar and groove, collided and helped shape a musical palette that feels both nostalgic and refreshingly new.
From Bedroom Experiments to a Viral Spark
Like many teenagers searching for identity through art, she began writing music in her early teens as a form of emotional escape.
Using software like Soundtrap and GarageBand, she taught herself how to layer sounds, shape harmonies, and build songs that mirrored her emotions.
By 2018, she created an Instagram under the name DellaXOZ to finally share her music with the world. Four years later, her song “I Want Doesn’t Get Close” became her first viral moment, marking the arrival of an artist whose voice carried the rawness of youth with the clarity of purpose.
The Money Song Lands
But it was “The Money Song,” released on June 12, 2025, that truly caught my attention. The track opens with a statement that is both whimsical and brutally honest: “I wish money grew on trees, like struggle grows on me.”
It is a line that instantly sets the tone for the song, clever, conversational, and painfully relatable.
In that single line, DellaXOZ captures the financial fatigue of a generation navigating rising rent, endless bills, and the cost of simply existing. There is a weary humor in her voice, the kind that makes you smile even as you recognize the weight behind the words.
Playfulness Versus Despair
What makes the song stand out is its balance of playfulness and despair. The electric guitar creates a grungy, textured background, grounding the lyrics in a soundscape that feels raw and intentionally imperfect.
It is not the glossy, overproduced pop-punk of the early 2010s. It is rough around the edges, almost bedroom-recorded, which gives it that charm and immediacy.
You can hear the tension between the riffs and her soft vocals, a contrast that mirrors the chaos of her message.
The Chorus That Sticks
The chorus drives it home with striking simplicity:
“What a big dent, water, gas, rent, but I still rock holes in my sweater, I’m thousands deep in debt here.”
It is a portrait of survival through humor, the art of making light of a situation that weighs heavily on most of us. There is almost something poetic about the way she pairs everyday struggles with the rhythm of punk. The repetition of “What a big dent” becomes a chant for the modern working class, a hook that is funny at first but tragic once it sinks in.
In Conversation with a Scene
What I find most interesting about “The Money Song” is how it fits into the wider lineage of UK pop punk yet still feels unmistakably hers. Where older acts often leaned into rebellion for rebellion’s sake, DellaXOZ’s defiance comes through empathy and awareness.
She is not screaming against authority. She is quietly singing through the exhaustion of trying to make ends meet.
Her approach reminds me of artists like Aziya, another UK musician blending pop-rock sensibility with introspective lyricism. Both artists use softness as power, proving that you do not need to shout to make your message loud.
Lines That Echo the Times
The second verse deepens that emotional honesty: “I’m trying not to lose my head, ’cause breathing already costs an arm and a leg.” The lyric might sound exaggerated, but it is painfully accurate.
The cost-of-living crisis in the UK and beyond has become the silent antagonist of modern adulthood.
Her ability to turn economic anxiety into melody is what makes the track resonate. It is not just a song about money. It is a song about endurance, about keeping your sense of humor and humanity in a world that constantly asks for more.
A Voice that Smiles Through the Storm
Then there is her delivery. DellaXOZ’s vocals have an airy warmth that wraps around the words instead of overpowering them. She sings like someone telling a story from the corner of their room, equal parts intimate and confessional.
The softness of her tone creates a kind of irony. These are heavy lyrics, but her voice carries them lightly, as if she is laughing through the chaos.
It is a vocal choice that aligns perfectly with the song’s theme of coping through grace and wit.
The Bridge That Breathes
By the time the bridge arrives, a series of wordless hums and elongated “ah-ah-ahs,” it feels almost like a collective sigh.
The repetition becomes meditative, a release from the tension built throughout the verses.
It is as if she is saying, “I have said all I can say about the struggle, now let us just breathe through it.” The guitars swirl gently beneath, neither exploding nor fading away, maintaining that sense of suspended calm.
When the Rain Keeps Falling
When she circles back to the chorus one last time, there is an added layer of exhaustion in her delivery, but also a sense of acceptance. “I just feel under the weather, can’t afford an umbrella, so life just rains on me.”
The metaphor hits hard because it is so universal. Everyone knows that feeling, when the world keeps raining on you and all you can do is keep moving.
Yet, even within that melancholy, there is something strangely beautiful. Her humor does not erase the pain. It humanizes it.
From Personal Frustration to Communal Catharsis
What makes DellaXOZ’s artistry feel so refreshing is how she transforms personal frustration into communal catharsis. “The Money Song” is not just her story; it is ours.
It is for the student balancing multiple part-time jobs, the young creative hustling between gigs, and the families trying to stretch every paycheck.
She speaks to that quiet generation of listeners who have learned to make art out of instability.
Irony, Dreams, and the Price of Passion
There is a deep consciousness in her writing that goes beyond surface-level commentary. She understands the irony of chasing dreams in a world that often monetizes passion itself.
The song’s humor is a coping mechanism, a way to turn anxiety into art. Even the title, “The Money Song,” carries a wink of irony, as if she is saying, “Fine, here’s the song about money we are all too broke to make.”
It is a nod to how economic precarity shapes creativity.
Echoes and Influences
Listening to DellaXOZ feels like overhearing a conversation between eras. You can hear traces of the melodic melancholy found in bands like Wolf Alice, but what stands out most is how her mother’s deep love for indie rock has carried over into her daughter’s craft, shaping the way DellaXOZ builds texture and mood in her songwriting.
It is as if she is taking those influences from her upbringing and folding them into something entirely her own. She never sounds like a copy of anyone else.
Her storytelling has its own pulse, rooted in the specific experience of being young, Black, female, and British in a world that still expects resilience as default.
Why It’s Replayable
As I kept replaying “The Money Song,” I realized what makes it so replayable is not just its catchy hook but its honesty.
It is a mirror held up to the realities of 2025, where humor and heartbreak coexist, where art becomes a survival mechanism.
It is a song that you can both cry and laugh to, a track that captures what it feels like to be broke but hopeful, tired but still trying.
Storytelling Disguised as Pop
DellaXOZ’s ability to turn something as mundane as bills and rent into an emotional anthem shows the maturity of her writing.
It is storytelling disguised as pop. Her work embodies the intersection of vulnerability and rebellion that defines so much of today’s indie scene.
And what is exciting is that this feels like just the beginning.
The Road Ahead
If “The Money Song” is any indication, she is carving a lane that is distinctly hers, where social commentary, humor, and introspection meet in perfect balance.
The track proves that she understands her audience because she is her audience.
She does not just sing about the struggle. She lives it, transforms it, and makes it beautiful.
Rhythm in the Storm
As she continues to evolve, I can see her becoming one of the defining voices of the new UK alt-pop movement. She carries the same spark that turned bedroom musicians into cultural leaders, yet her storytelling is grounded in the realism of now.
DellaXOZ reminds us that even when life rains on you, there is still music to be made, still rhythm in the storm, still laughter hiding between the chords.
And maybe that is the true genius of “The Money Song.” It does not solve the problem. It simply reminds us we are not facing it alone.