Review Summary: In the age of the Electro-Alternative takeover this album draws heavily from the past to create something modern and emotional, but also appears to be suffering an identity crisis....
Right out of the gate, let’s just poke the elephant in the room. Zola Blood are endlessly indebted to those who came before them. There is nothing wrong with being influenced heavily by some outstanding artists, but you risk losing your identity by becoming a greatest hits compilation. While in danger of doing just this, Zola Blood have managed the difficult task of appealing to the present while retaining the comfort and familiarity of the past in their music.
Just to give a little backstory here, this group of young men from various parts of the U.K. met in London and immediately created a buzz with their sound. They quickly managed to catch the attention of the manager and label for Talk Talk. After a series of EP’s and shows, we’ve been graced with this dark little gem of a debut album.
Zola Blood don’t reinvent the wheel with their debut, instead using the familiar electronic templates established by the likes of Radiohead, Depeche Mode, Orbital, Aphex Twin, New Order, and Burial. I know those are some big names to drop for comparison to this relatively new and young group of musicians, but they have done their homework in not only studying the masters but understanding what makes their music work. The vocal comparisons to Thom Yorke circa 1997 are inevitable, but singer Matt West actually has a much stronger tenor range and falsetto than Yorke ever did, hitting beautiful highs at just the right time for maximum emotional impact. The synth work is top notch, accenting the subtly beautiful guitar melodies and nuanced percussion. When viewing live performances of the band you can tell they operate as a well-oiled machine, each of them complimenting the other, which is rare to find in such a heavily electronica-leaning group.
The album is very much a mellow affair. As the songs ebb and flow from one track to another telling their stories, you get the overall sense of longing and love lost that permeates the music and lyrics. There are a trio of songs in the first half of the album that truly stand out from everything else due to just how well written and executed they are. “Heartbeat” borrows strongly from later day Depeche mode and Burial, starting with a hushed acoustic guitar and bleeding into washes of synths and textures as the song builds a head of steam. “The Only Thing” immediately follows that song up with a pulsing rhythm and a grandiose chorus that swells beautifully, immediately recalling Radiohead at their most dramatic. Then there is “Good Love” which starts off like a deranged funeral march and builds into pure beauty, suddenly shifting towards the end into darker territory before finding its way back again. Other stand out tracks include “Islands” with its hand-clapping tropical vibe that goes down a darker path, and then there’s “Nothing” with its spaced-out synth wash opening that builds into a weirdly industrial chorus that Trent Reznor wishes he wrote.
Musically this album is great, but as you notice in my writing of this review I can’t help recalling where they are pulling their musical ideas. That is because while Zola Blood don’t outright copy their progenitors, they certainly aren’t subtle about where they are borrowing ideas, and I guess that’s why I can’t outright give this album unequivocal praise. They keep the mixture of these influences fresh and modern which is great, but they’ve yet to completely find their own distinct voice. As far as debut albums go, they could have done so much worse and in the electro-alternative takeover there are far worse groups and albums out there in the wild. So overall, it’s a promising but very familiar start that shows this band already has a handle on the classics. Here’s to hoping their next release creates classics that are conveyed in their own voice.
