Zom Zoms Share "One Brain"

One Brain
Zom Zoms
©2004 Omega Point Records

(out of 5)

Future Zom Zoms CDs should come with a warning label: If you're expecting to hear something familiar, you may experience alienation which includes feeling like a stranger in a foreign land, and occasional discomfort accompanied by bouts of manic head bobbing and jaw dropping awe. In other words, the zolo* and art punk sound achieved using new wave synthesizers and spiraling vocals won't have the usual catchy pop riffs of new wave. But for some listeners it may be a welcome holiday to a strange, dark and colorful land.
Listening to One Brain then reading a mediocre review proves that a lot of music critics are full of hot air. It's almost as if they feel guilty if they enjoy hearing something that challenges their personal sense of what is functional, fashionable and simply good. Usually I'm not critical of a previous reviewer's opinion. But in this case, I think one critic did a haphazard job in the case of reviewing Zom Zom's second CD release. While I do agree with Darcie Stevens on two points - this CD is reminiscent of Devo, and "...intelligent, quirky, and rhythmic"** - I can't agree with her dismissal of the CD as "annoying, repetitive, and noisy"**. Of course music is subjective, like any other art form, and everyone has different tastes in music. I also understand that the paper she writes for is limited in space when it comes to music reviews. But she insults an active listener's intelligence when her assessment of a band's music relies on ambiguous references to the differences between art and punk, and not references to examples (tracks) that make it good, bad or somewhere in between. This is why I'm breaking my own rule. Normally I don't mention or highlight more than 5 tracks on a CD. But thanks to the Austin Chronicle's murky review, this amateur blog reviewer will mention every track to make it clear why One Brain may be worth another listener's attention.

Live or on record, Zom Zoms are brilliant at capturing attention and polarizing an audience. They succeed immediately with the spasmatic intro "Wake of Zom Zoms". It lies disturbingly between the paranormal and psychosexual and caught me off guard (even though I heard similarly disturbing lyrics in a live version of "Hyper Lenny" a few nights before). "Pray to Zom Zoms" is an absurd song that masks the ridicule of idol worship with holier than thou vocal stylings. For me, it was the real intro to a band that thrives on off the beaten path lyrics, peculiar and exciting vocals, and of course, dynamic synthesizers. This isn't just chaotic noise. It's real music. Listen to "Hyper Lenny" more than once and you might agree. It's a work of dark humor that will remind you of a cartoon, and lead vocalist/guitarist Zom is the foley artist. The sounds coming out of his mouth are as cool and quirky as any classic Saturday morning surrealism fest. My favorite track "Static" has a great chord progression that sounds almost melodic, and the lyrics are brilliant. Following that is an awful train wreck of a song - "The Cockatoo Cries "Zom!"". It's a frivolous mess, but for some reason it's so horrible it's actually good when it all unravels. I thought about skipping "Recipes Resume" because the lyrics mean absolutely nothing to me. I'd like to believe that's the point of this song. I simply can't understand it, and probably wouldn't understand it all if they gave me the lyrics. But the funky rhythm is worth mentioning. "Steve Martin Is Going Nowhere" is a merciless and funny track. I like a few movies listed in the song, so it took a lot of composure not to scowl. But it took even more composure not to crack up laughing when the actor's less auspicious movies were mentioned. "Stubborn Beast Flesh" is as disconcerting as the title indicates, and the darkest and most deeply disturbing of all the songs. "Laser" had the opposite effect. The wordplay is absurd so of course I thought it was an original song, but now I am compelled to seek out the original version by Aviador Dro. The finale is a cover of a song by The Judy's - "TV". I heard the song before at The Record Rack when I was a little kid. I thought it was a cool song then. I still do. These three music artists share One Brain very well. Overall, there are some brilliant tracks that make this a very good CD to play often. I look forward to a new release featuring adventurous vocals and synthesizers from Zom Zoms.
~ diy-danna

Photo by Elizabeth Skadden

Zom Zoms Are (left to right):
Phil Philmapster - Fabulous Keytar, Synthesizer & Vocals
Zom Philmapster - Jaw-dropping Vocals, Guitar & Synthesizer
Zoms Frenchman - Incomparable CompuRhythm, Synthesizer & Vocals
A self-titled 12" Vinyl EP is now available through Wonk Records, or at Waterloo Records and End of An Ear. A New CD Coming Soon!
Visit the band's web site: tubezomzoms.com
MySpace: Zom Zoms

*See "Zolo Synthesis" 1997 by Terry Sharkie
** Austin Chronicle Review - October 22, 2004