Shop Music
Amazon.com Music
Office Supplies
"Napster Official Site"
|
The Garden
Home > Complete List of "t-u" Artists > Telepopmusik > Item 6
 |
|
 |
 |
The Garden
|
by Zero 7
Sales Rank: 6090
|
List Price: $15.98
$13.99
At Amazon
on 4-23-2008.
|
|
Zero 7, aka Sam Hardaker and Henry Binns, are back with a gorgeous new album, The Garden. It was produced by Sam and Henry and mixed by Phil Brown, who has worked with such luminaries as the Rolling Stones, Brian Eno and Talk Talk. It features vocal performances by Jose Gonzalez, Sia Furler and Henry Binns. The bands previous albums, Simple Things and When It Falls, were critically acclaimed and rooted them firmly alongside Royksopp & Lemon Jelly as leaders in their field. The Garden sees Zero 7 take a fresher, more upbeat musical direction while still maintaining their trademark sound, and could well turn out to be the soundtrack to the summer.
As a major fan of Zero 7, I feel that Henry and Sam have exceeded all expectations with their third album 'The Garden'. Their trademark sound has 'graduated' with more sublime harmonies and upbeat rhythms, while maintaining the lush chords and strings so present on their first two albums. The lyrics are entertaining, intellectual, and lucid...and several musical styles are explored (i.e. shuffle, scat). The addition of Jose Gonzalez's placid vocals is the perfect complement to Z7. The standout track 'Today', featuring Jose, evokes nostalgic 60's bossa nova vibes, while 'Crosses' is reminiscent of early Alan Parsons Project. Sia Furler is at her best, doing vocals on 6 tracks, with Henry Binns in perfect sync doing backing vocals on several. (Sia is the artist who's solo song 'Breathe Me' was featured on the final episode/closing scene of Six Feet Under, as Claire is driving through the desert). Zero 7's slight variation in style from their first two albums is at first intriguing, and with repeated listening, becomes more captivating and addictive. The horn arrangements in tracks such as 'Your Place' and 'Waiting To Die' are pure big-band bliss, with the latter track closing the album and offering an ironically humorous and upbeat perspective on our own mortality by celebrating living. This album will reward you. My advice...BUY it, be entertained by it, and reward the people in your life that make you feel good to be alive by bringing them with you into 'The Garden'. By the way, if you're a fan of Z7's instrumentals (who isn't), The single cd of 'Throw It All Away' (sold on amazon) has a b-side track called 'Inaminute' which is one of the band's best instrumentals...very mellow and introspective, similar to Simple Things material. The single also has the b-side 'Thistles', sung by Sia, which is very lightside fleetwood mac-ish...also excellent...but these two tracks are only available on this cd-single.
Comment | Permalink |
(Report this)
|
The Garden
Available from Amazon
Price: $13.99
Updated on 4-23-2008.
|
|
