Zero 7 - The Garden
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Free Music Notes for The Garden
Free Music Review: They Have Changed... This is a GOOD Thing!
Hit: 4 Stars
Any Zero 7 fan who says this album is amazing from the beginning is a liar or just blinded by the sheer greatness of Simple Things and When It Falls. I say that because this is a HUGE departure from the tempos and landscapes that made those previous 2 albums masterpeices. The soothing sounds and relaxing beats are now all but gone. There are no mellow chill-out songs that remind of you of 'Destiny', 'I Have Seen', 'Give it Away', 'Home' and 'Passing by'. If thats what you're looking for, sorry... Zero 7 has decided to do something new. But there is good news: the direction they have taken is, while extremely different, still very creative, intelligent, and very very fun to listen to once you stop wishing for 'Simple Things Part 2'.
Lets get to the specifics... The opening track 'Futures' makes the transition easy for us. With a very 'Zero-7ish' guitar loop and easy vocals. And do notice the hook, 'let me know where we go after the fall'? Genius. The song ends with a transition from smooth guitar to mild electronic mayhem, which moves seamlessly into the return of Sia with a faster paced, more summery and upbeat version of and old favorite 'Somersalt'. Notice the guitar solo. Thats SO not Zero-7ish. And the pace sounds pop, but the lyrics and the chords are absolutely NOT pop. They are happy yet sad, just like 'Waiting to Die'. They are playing with the musical pallate here, and keeps you guessing on how the music is supposed to make you feel. Its interactive, and you eventually need to decide for yourself. Brilliant!
'Seeing things' marks their total breakaway from their first 2 albums, and in my mind is their tribute to the original Euro rule-breakers. It breaks away from their standard haunted strings and horns, and does it with electronics. This will take some getting used to, but its extremely fun to listen to. 'Pageant' is very interesting in their use of the circus organ. Not my favorite. 'Flame' is in my mind a sick song. Again, its extremely not 'Zero-7ish'. But its pure genius how they constructed the overlaying between thee beats, the background vocal harmonies, and the synthesizer loops. Awesome.
I could go on and on discussing how smart and daring this album is. IMHO the master piece of this album is 'Crosses'. It starts as a very smooth vocal-dominated track, but listen to how the intensity builds throughout the song. The direction of the song is clued by the background singing that is strikingly more intense than the lead vocals. Then they drop in the organ, then the hand clap, change up the beat, add a deep elecronic noise, and so forth. Its a brilliant ode to how far the duo has come in terms of production.
The overall message that i'm trying to convey is that you have to stop hoping for a rehash of their old stuff. They are stretching, and this is a good thing. I look at Coldplay for instance. They struck proverbial gold with their first 2 albums, relying heavily of the voice of Chris Martin. But then on their 3rd album, they took it to a new, electronic, fast-paced world, with CM's vocal playing second fiddle to the incredible production. Like Zero 7 in 'Seeing Things', they paid tribute Kraftwerks with 'Talk'. And they also took their listeners to a new place with #3. I repeat... this is a GOOD thing!!
FYI - it took me almost a week of listening to this album before I felt it enough to write this. But now i must say I love it. 'Simple Things' will always be my favorite, but this album is Genius too.
Free Music Review: Great cd
Hit: 5 Stars
I am in love with this cd. It is the perfect cd to listen too after the long harsh days at work. It makes sense to just chill and listen to the story.Free Music Review: Zero 7, what have you done?
Hit: 2 Stars
The ethereal, dreamy, triptronic sounds that we fell in love with on Zero 7's first CD are a distant memory. I bought their latest CD with high hopes (never heard their sophomore effort), and was sorely disappointed. The opening tracks remind me of Steely Dan--ugh. And the rest is a mishmash of cheesy sounds and a much less sensual-sounding result. C'mon, Zero 7. It wasn't broken...why'd you have to fix it?Free Music Review: Pageant of the Bizarre you ain't kidding...
Hit: 4 Stars
I don't know how they do it, these zany Brits. I bought the CD, I listened to the CD, I've read the reviews and as much contrast as seems to be drawn here, they're ALL true. You're gonna love and/or hate this one. I'm as big a fan of this team as any and I don't know what to make of this, nearly.
At first I thought "what has happened here?"--so outrageously different from most of their previous work--beyond classification almost like some nutty musical. Have I wasted $15 I wondered? But I put it into the rotation and forced myself to listen, being a fan and all, and suddenly...
The stand out tracks, the ones that have flung their grappling hooks into my brain, are all Sia Furler's (4,8,12). Not for nothing, but I've always been amazed that a small white chick can have such a big voice. In contrast (and maybe that was the point?) Jose's tracks come off likes the Beach Boys on ludes, man. Makes me think that the production duo of Binns and Hardaker may have yet found their calling--as Sia's producers/session band, that is---and that I outta just start taking her CD's seriously and buy one or both. I'd rate Destiny as one of my TopTenTunes--but she's in full Sgt. Pepper mode here, showing musical and lyrical range of which I'd not previously imagined her capable. Good on ya, sister--I'd love to turn you on.
As for Zero 7, I still love the first two albums and that can't be taken away. Thing is, if you're like me and you've been bored for the last year or so waiting for something to come along and give you a reason to charge your iPod, I say take a chance on this. Some of these tunes are downright addictive and no matter what the beef some may have, The Garden is still better that 95% of the awfulness that's out there now.
Free Music Review: Not what I expected, but it doesn't have to be
Hit: 2 Stars
While there are some bright moments in "The Garden", it's by and large a disappointment to hear the solid songwriting of Zero 7 take on a slightly odd turn in their new release. Doesn't mean I'll be throwing them away as a favourite artist, it just means this one didn't reach me. But with their format, Zero 7 has always allowed themselves to take on different roles with their music (particularly by using different vocalists and sometimes no vocalists at all). This is another season of this band and next release will be yet another. They may be spinning away from the "Simple Things" sound that brought them so many fans, but that's their right as artists. If it's really that Zero 7 is "taking the idea of a pop song a lot more seriously" as Marisa Brown of allmusic.com suggests, then I would've expected something more similar to the beautiful statement Tina Dico made with her 2005 release "In The Red". But pop art being what it is, this is what we have from Zero 7 this time around. Not every album has to be an award-winner.
Incidentally, having a "concept of music theory" should never be a pre-requisite to enjoying music. That's a little like suggesting that you have to know the life history of an artist in order to understand what their paintings mean. If you don't get art, then you don't get it. Maybe it has something to do with your own perceptions or maybe the artist has been unsuccessful in their attempt.