Lovingly pinched from Sea of Tranquility: The years with Relapse have seen Zombi rise from the fog of obscurity by way of touring and side & solo projects — add to that a fan base that continues to swell with every beat and undulation. The ranks consist of film score freaks and enthusiasts of synthesizer icons Tangerine Dream and Giorgio Moroder, and the unwavering torchbearers of all things Goblin and George A. Romero. Zombi — Two Guys From Pittsburgh, Steve Moore and A.E. Paterra — keep the faith with their fifth full CD, Escape Velocity.
Zombi’s 2009 release Spirit Animal introduced guitars to the duo’s synths-bass-drums formula. Not this time: Escape Velocity revisits the threshold crossed from Cosmos to Surface To Air. The five new compositions occupy a ledge on an unmapped precipice that overlooks territory familiar yet turbulent and strange. The synthetic palette is grander than ever and free of sonic dribblings and other ephemera of the sort that marred electronic albums in the late ’80s and early ’90s. The crisp sequences signal the past triumphs of Tangerine Dream, Moroder, Klaus Schulze, and Robert Schroeder. The absence of Moore’s bass guitar is conspicuous but not unwarranted; his DSI, Moog and Prophet synths provide the kind of low end that sends ripples across the Atlantic.
The percussive mantra of Escape Velocity recalls the days when Klaus Schulze’s side-length sequencer epics were graced with real drums. Unlike Schulze, Paterra’s never put down his sticks: the fills and perfectly-dropped flams buttress Steve Moore’s Reichian chords to effect a most foreboding air. With a rapidly-percolating sequence, judicious drumming punctuated by blistering fills, and a circular lead melody to round out the template, the three minutes of ‘Slow Oscillations’ is the culmination of instrumental rock. It’s a sure bet Moore and Paterra are one of a handful of modern acts that knows how to do this sort of thing without drawing outside the lines.
Continue reading: Review: “Zombi: Escape Velocity” – Sea of Tranquility – The Web Destination for Progressive Music!.
Tags: A. E. Paterra, Album of the day, Elias Granillo, Escape Velocity, relapse records, Sea of Tranquility, Steve Moore, Zombi
This entry was posted on Friday, May 13th, 2011 at 4:01 am and is filed under 2011, Album of the Day . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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