One cursory glance at the cover of the latest album by El Paso based Zechs Marquise would lead the listener to believe they were about to listen to an album of intense bass laden funk or an album of children’s songs by the Animal Kwackers. Three of the band members are brothers Marcel, Marfred and Rikardo Rodriguez-Lopez, who are brothers of The Mars Volta’s Omar, so a certain rich family heritage in progressive music may be apparent from the offset. The production is razor sharp as is befitting an album that is both technically proficient and intricate, as it is soulful and, yes, funky as hell.
The title track, and opening piece ‘Getting Paid’ starts with an echo which is reminiscent of any number of electronic synthesiser tunes, before the funk encumbered bass pushes any belief of that aside to make way for a mathematically complex series of riffs and phrases which mark out the characteristics of this album early on. ‘Lock Jaw Night Vision’ retains the qualities of the previous track, but is somehow also infused with further levels of energy, exhilaration and haste which give it a need to sweep the funk to one side. There are any number of tempo and mood changes within its’ 5 short minutes to bewilder the first time listener.
‘Static Lovers’ opens as if it were the soundtrack to a mid 1950’s science fiction film, replete with otherworldly sound effects and alien landscapes, before the jazz funk careers through the atmosphere. The guitar here would not be out of place on some of the most respected classic jazz based albums. Surprisingly, ‘Static Lovers’ is the first time that any vocal of any description is apparent on the album, which comes in the form of some peculiar Latin space chant....
Read the full review at This Is Not A Scene
No comments:
Post a Comment