Having performed under a different names for over ten years,
the Zulu Winter finally got their
act together in 2011, and have since gained the recognition of the music press,
adorning the cover of The Fly in
January and hotly tipped by The N.M.E for
2012.
The quintet may not be earth-shatteringly radical or
different, but their pulsing electro sheen and snug guitar work is an
impressive and addictive fabrication that is woven into an encouraging debut
LP: Language.
They have a wide range of musical influences that they post
about frequently on their eclectic blog, and, by their own admission, Zulu
Winter are heavily influenced by TS Eliot!
But despite such an obscure and
diverse selection of influences, the
format and feel of their songs remain
entrenched in the modern indie
convention. Fans of Foals and Wild Beasts
will find refuge in this band with their general melodic compass skewed from hooks and catchy
choruses towards repetitive, looping riffage and echo-laden layers of swirling
guitar and synths.
Language does however takes a little time to warm to beginning
with the pedestrian Key To My Heart instead
of perhaps one of their more striking numbers dampens the buzz immediately.
Will Daunt’s light
but impressively ranged vocal at times occupies
the middle ground between Coldplays’ Chris
Martin Wild Beasts’ singer Hayden
Thorpe, whereas as the musical backdrop dives between the both the
aforementioned vocalists’ bands, as well as the fluid synth of Friendly Fires and Delphic.
Let’s Move Back to
Front is a real stand-out track, with a spiked hook to reel you in, that
has some alluring depths under its pop infused façade. An indie-dance slice of
perfection. Silver Tongue is also top
drawer and incredibly accessible and as catchy-as- you-like.
There appears to be time has been invested in the production
and thought put into the arrangements and lyrics, however an overall solid
album falls short of the consistencies required of being ‘of the year good’.
I
often fear that any buzz-band who scatter exciting singles could set themselves
up for a later failure; akin to the cinematic trailer that ‘shows all the best
bits’ and the feature can’t reach such heights. Whilst Zulu Winter have put out
a thoroughly listenable offering it is let down, by the slow start and feels two
or three tracks short of real excellence.
Losing its way, notably on ‘You
Deserve Better’ and ‘Words I Wield’, the band should build on the genuine strengths
of this debut and use as a catalyst for that dreaded follow up…………….
