Zox is an awesome local band from Providence, RI. Their unique sound blends reggae, rock, punk, ska and whatever else they can get their hands on with the brilliant lead violin of Spencer Swain. Every member of the band has above average talent (particularly Spencer and Dan) and it shows. This is their follow up to the amazing debut “take me home.” While quite as good as the first album, this certainly doesn’t disappoint. The single “Can’t look Down” has been a staple on WBRU (the local alt rock station) ever since its release. Also if you get the chance to see them live, DO IT! They are an amazing live band that will absolutely blow your mind.
1: The Wait
This is a 31 second instrumental intro. It is basically cool percussion with the other instruments making echoing experiments. Decent but nothing special. 7/10
2: Thirsty
The first real song of the album, Thirsty really kicks things into gear. An awesome guitar line opens the song, soon to be accompanied w/ a great chirping violin harmony that is clearly classical influenced. The verse has some neat distorted ska. The chorus features first hard rock, and then reggae influenced guitars with great harmonies between Eli and Dan/Spencer. The powerful (and awesome) solo harmonizes guitar and violin perfectly. Overall a great song and apparently a future single. 10/10
3: Carolyn
This is more of a pop punk tune, but a good one. It starts with a midspeed drum beat and neat bassline, which is joined by a very catchy guitar riff. The song then picks up into the much faster (but just as catchy) verse and chorus. The lyrics, about a troubled relationship, are very emotional but not generic “stab my heart out cause I love you” emo sh*t. This song will be stuck in your head once you hear it. Another future single. 9/10
4: A Little More Time
This song shows a bit more of Zox’s ska/reggae influence. The guitar tone (distorted but not too distorted) fits the midspeed ska verse perfectly. The haunting high pitched back up vocals of “give me just a little more time” are very catchy. The chorus features simple catchy guitar and a great drum beat. The ending of the song is great. It goes through the anthemic “I have never been, never been somebody to hold onto” park before going back to the ska of the verse with a perfect accompanying violin line. 9/10
5: Anything but Fine
This is a really well done ballad. It is mostly just Eli singing and strumming his guitar with some violin work by Spencer but the whole band comes in at the end for the song echoing climax. The chorus is perfect. The guitar chords and melodies of Eli’s singing and Spencer’s touching violin line fit perfectly. The lyrics are once again emo but not generic crap (most of the album is like this). 9/10
6: Better if it’s Worse
This is the fastest song on the album and is basically an excuse to show off Dan’s considerable bass playing talents. The bass work is among the best I’ve ever heard. The song has a neat little breakdown near the end in which the screeching violin and guitar play off each other before it kicks into the explosive powerful ending. 8/10
7: Bridges Burning
This is a good song that pales a little bit in comparison to some of the other stuff on the album. It has a pretty fast drum beat and a simple, rocking bass line in the intro. The verse is o.k. has a neat guitar line but nothing really special. The chorus features more of Spencer and Dan’s haunting, high pitched backing vocals. There is another guitar/violin harmony solo (not as good as the one in thirsty but still good) followed by a catchy quiet slow part which builds up into the chorus again. The ending is driven by an awesome slow drum beat and creepy harmonies between the violin and guitar. 7.5/10
8: Big Fish
Another balladic song. This one is full band the whole way but not nearly as good as anything but fine. There is a cool sliding violin effect in the intro and verse that soon gets boring as it is repeated way too much in the song. This has Dan add a little bit of keyboard but nothing special. The chorus is catchy and has a neat violin harmony. This song is ok but there’s nothing really special about it to make you really want to listen to it. Probably b/c it’s too slow for my tastes. 6/10
9: Can’t Look Down
The hit single! (at least in Providence, RI). This is a full band acoustic pop song. It starts with a cool acoustic riff that soon gives way for strumming guitar and another chirping violin line. The verse is mainly the guitar repeating the main violin line. The chorus is another perfect sing along moment. There is some really neat acoustic work in the second half of the chorus. The bridge is basically the intro guitar line with some violin harmony that builds into the chorus, which repeats itself several times in a fade ending. Awesome song, although a little repetitive. 9/10
10: Satellite
The intro is awesome, with neat percussion and a great guitar bass harmony. However this becomes a boring verse and only slightly better chorus. The chorus has more of the high pitched backing vocals. The bridge is better with its strumming guitar chords and simple violin harmony. This followed by a plucking violin solo which then goes back to the chorus for a final time. Ok but nothing really special here. 6.5/10
11: Fallen
This song starts slowly with first a violin line over keyboards and then a bass only verse. This is followed by a neat part with the violin and guitar playing off of each other before a reggaeish chorus with more high pitched backing vocals. The song really takes of at the 3:30 mark when the violin and guitar start a rapid fire trade off of riffs. This is joined brilliantly by the bass and drums before going into the climatic punkish version of the chorus and then going back to the violin line from the beginning. Great stuff. 9/10
12: Spades
This is a bit of a fan favorite but I don’t really like it that much. It’s driven by a pretty good classical influenced violin line. The verse is kinda boring. The next part is sort of catchy but not really anything special. More high pitched vocals and a neat bassline. This song is basically the same kind of stuff as the rest of the album, only not as good. The climatic final chorus is pretty good though. 6.5/10
13: I Am Only Waiting
This is another balladic song to close the album. It’s driven by a simple catchy bassline and chiming violin that reminds me of U2s guitar work. The way the song gradually builds up to a powerful, melodic climax is also similar to U2. An OK but not great ending to a pretty damn good album. 6.5/10
Overall I give this album 8.75/ 10. Despite some really awesome songs a couple of mediocre ones stuffed into the ending bring the rating down a bit. It is also brought down by the overall lack of ska/reggae, the sometimes over-emotional lyrics, the considerable shadow of take me home, and the repetitive use of high pitched vocals. I’m being way too critical however. This is a great album and any fan of good music will like it. So buy it and if you can see them live jump at the chance.
Zox:
Eli Miller- lead vox, guitar
Spencer Swain- electric violin
Dan Edinberg- bass
John Zox- drums
