Starting in 2009, this psychedelic rock quartet began as the backing band of ex Broken Social Scene guitarist, turned solo artist, Jason Collete. Following up their 2010 debut 'Say Us', 'Busting Visions' is a love letter to most fondly remembered styles 60’s and 70s pop culture.
The record continues their rock and roll lineage boasting layers of gentle guitar licks, groove laden base lines and three-part vocal harmonies with Fleet Foxes authenticity and Beach Boys sublimity. Zeus sound like they had a clear musical demographic in mind with a rootsy sound and an intellectual take on song writing that ambitiously packs in use of cellos, piano and glockenspiel.
'Love Pain' at first sounds unashamedly like The Beatles but packs an instantly enjoyable chorus before a climax of prog guitars and keyboards. Meanwhile 'Proud and Beautiful' is a track that’s brief and blissful and demonstrates this album’s versatility.
Still, living up to as many of the stereotypes of their influences as possible, lyrically this album is full of the strange and the stonnery. 'With Eyes Closed' pensively describes dreams of storms and unknown voices who repeat to our humbled frontman Carlin Nicholson "All will be undone". Trippy right?
On the other hand 'Strong Mind' and 'Hello Tender Love' show the band’s music at its most romantically lyrical. The songs discuss love in a completely virtuous innocent way, as if they were going out of their way not to sound even vaguely sexual. Perhaps a little refreshing? Potentially so if you’re the kind of person who finds yourself concerned by the vulgarity of what teenagers listen to these days.
Then again, you could argue that its with their instruments that Zeus really do the talking. At times rich and beautiful, but then seconds later, technical and quirky, occasionally even able to throw some moodier more distorted riffs in too. Zeus hardly really try to put a modern or original take on their influences so blatantly carried on their sleeves. Rather, they expertly use an outsider’s view of everything that was great about the 60s and 70s and seamlessly blend them together in to a 21st century souvenir for anyone who wants to learn or is old enough to remember those “good old days”.
Zeus released 'Busting Visions' via Arts & Crafts/So Recordings on 13th August 2012.
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The record continues their rock and roll lineage boasting layers of gentle guitar licks, groove laden base lines and three-part vocal harmonies with Fleet Foxes authenticity and Beach Boys sublimity. Zeus sound like they had a clear musical demographic in mind with a rootsy sound and an intellectual take on song writing that ambitiously packs in use of cellos, piano and glockenspiel.
