First there is “Big screen / Flat people”,
with a New York atmosphere that only these French are capable of producing. It’s
both powerful and tense.
We immediately think of Bästard whose last unforgettable
LP“Radiant,
Discharged, Crossed Off” was released ten years ago.
But time hasn’t stood still and Zëro isn’t
Bästard ; this first title is a
testimony of the link between the two dieresis, a cross between
what
Bästard and Narcophony used to be and another project
surrounded with the subtle and contemporary melody written by Eric Aldéa
and Ivan
Chiossone. They both were the dominant strength of Zëro,
along with
Franck Laurino and François Cuilleron.
And then comes “Go stereo”, a sublime piece of
work that we could
humourously qualify as after post-rock, dazzling and heady,
and which definitively molds Zëro’s own identity. “Go
stereo” is a genuine contemporary hymn to
Phil Spector’s “Back
to the mono”, boundless and totally
international. No need for high-tech to make this work. Everything
is done just the way a live performance should be done with a group that is both rigorous
and laid back, the sound being the sole
motive for perfectionism and determination. All you have to
do to understand this is to see them in concert.
It’s undoubtedly with this title that Zëro’s
message unveils the way they see the rock “genre”-
with total freedom of expression, a mix of cultures and influences where
Sun Ra’s jazz and Captain Beefheart’s
blues are not far from being completely assimilated.
Obviously, Zëro’s music has more to do with
creativity than with staying in the beaten
path of rock with a specific identity. It's
as much Jack Berrocal and Gene Vincent playing a “Drag
Queen blues” under ecstasy and classic
Devo's envigorating “Automotown / Space
girl blues” as it is the krautrock by
Can and Kraftwerk in “Luna Park”, an entertaining
song which provokes an addictive cerebral
experience. You can also sense Neurotic Pavement,
Eternally Young Wankers Sonic Youth, and a
bunch of other freaks, who, all off the beaten
path have constantly re-written the language of rock with intelligence and singularity.
Each title escapes from the previous one,
unclassifiable, escaping from the routine,
leaving the listener with a smile and a
chuckle. The “Joke Box” is like the smirk of an
illusionist about to open his magic box. Pleasure and
surprise are always present.
The name Zëro, perhaps without the humble group member's
realizing it, is well suited to the fact that their music is at the origin of this genre of music. “Joke
Box” is a superb anthology.
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