Wednesday 10 August 2011

Zombi - Spirit Animal

Excellent grooving synth-prog rock-out from 2009. Obvious comparisons are John Carpenter and Goblin, but with a more toughened up and streamlined sound - propulsive drumming and metal/post rock bass drive along the layers of vintage synth sweeps and arpeggios. The tracks also tend to be longer than the aforementioned people, who generally composed shorter pieces for soundtracks. On this album are lots of epic instrumental songs that evolve and develop, change pace; ebb, flow and build to sometimes euphoric peaks. This duo has a great sense of melody to back up their obvious musical skill, and they aren't afraid to chuck in a suitable key change when necessary, which makes this a wholly satisfying listen, rather than just an apreciation of old synths and cinematic references. It's brilliantly conceived and performed, and hugely enjoyable. Also, highly recommended for driving.
Most of their stuff is frustratingly out of print and expensive on LP, you may still be able to find their excellent new album 'Escape Velocity' on vinyl. Also available on cd as well as various Ts etc - buy direct from Relapse

Mediafire

No comments: