Review Summary: A diverse, clever and quirky album that is much more than you might initially think.
I have to confess, my early experience with Tub Ring might have been similar to using a microscope as a paperweight. It was back when I had just discovered Mr. Bungle and was looking for a band equally deranged to imagine horror movie scenes to. Tub Ring's Drake Equation was the closest match I managed to find at the time, and the insane style salad used to spin in my player for quite a while. That being said, I never listened much to the lyrics. I knew the general idea of what some songs were about, but was usually too distracted with the sci-fi-on-speedball instrumentation. That is probably why I enjoyed Tub Ring's subsequent releases noticeably less and almost forgot about this great band.
The point is that the message of the songs is an inseparable part of the atmosphere Tub Ring create in their music, and upon giving Zoo Hypothesis a more focused listen a year or so later, I was amazed at how I had almost dismissed something so clever and intriguing as novelty music.
The motif, however, remains the same: the future everyone talked about is here, and it's a twisted reflection of what we thought it would be. What has changed is the scale of events. Zoo Hypothesis pans out from the fashion craze and cancer hysteria to the modern society and politics' malfunctions, and though it might not sound very promising, it is actually amazingly subtle. Just listen to the album opener Tiny, Little, complete with cabaret piano and violin. No one would ever tell it was going to be a political statement until the last few lines, which change the overall view of the song. As always, Tub Ring use quite a lot of metaphors, willing to leave the listener some space for thought, and this makes the album experience more personal.
Symbolism abounds on this record. Right off the bat there's Death Of The Robot, which literally kills off the romantic dreams of the future where everyone will have a jetpack and cheeseburger-flavoured pills for breakfast. We are introduced to another kind of future - the one full of political mindgames (The Promise Keeper), information overload (One With My Surroundings) and mindless modernization (We Are The Righteous). The one that we happen to live in, incidentally. Yes, these guys are punks in the ends, both musically and lyrically, but the kind of punks that seem to study what they oppose. This is especially evident in Habitat - a song that addresses the people's everlasting wish of making "the choice that makes a difference" without leaving the comfort zone. In the words of the song itself, "This is not a choice".
There are also digressions from the main theme, and they are equally engaging, at times reminding me of the aforementioned Drake Equation. There is Raindrops - the last song of a weary, desperate soldier in the Third World War, as well as Vehicle - a recollection of the Heaven's Gate cult and its members' mass suicide. In the best traditions of Mr. Bungle's lyrical dissonance, both of these are put to happy, soothing music.
Speaking of which, the instrumentation is still top-notch on this album. The main focus seems to be hardcore punk, and it goes perfectly with the politically-aligned mood of the songs, supported by Rob Kleiner's ever-present synths. The pace reaches truly breakneck speeds at times, and because the gaps between songs are unnoticeable, the record may be easily enjoyed in a single bite. Songs like The Night Watch and The Viking Song channel the more epic side of folk, while I Could Never Fall In Love With You and Raindrops have slight 50's overtones. In the end, this is still a mad mashup of styles and genres, but far more polished and fitting together perfectly.
So, if you like songs that have a hidden meaning, enjoy experimental rock at its wildest and don't mind an album that takes time to grow on you, Zoo Hypothesis is one of the best choices you've got. Those who have not listened to Tub Ring before might want to check out Drake Equation and Fermi Paradox first, because those two releases kind of lead up to what you'll hear on this one. Regarding that dead robot, too.
