NewMusic First Spin: The Zolas
November 13th, 2009
Vancouver’s always played third fiddle to Toronto and Montreal as Canada’s most fertile city for music, but it felt like there was a radical shift in 2009. If anything the city can boast diversity, with disparate bands such as Japandroids, Bend Sinister, No Gold, Twin Crystals, You Say Party! We Say Die!, Brasstronaut and Pink Mountaintops, all leaving their mark on the year. Add The Zolas to that list.
Zach Gray and Tom Dobrzanski are a true anomaly: a duo that incorporates guitar, drums, piano, trumpet and vocals despite only having four arms between them. But the demand pays off on their debut album for Lotus Child Music Inc. / Universal.
Produced by local vet Howard Redekopp (Tegan & Sara, New Pornographers), The Zolas come off as cordial and straightforward, but Tic Toc Tic is full of abrupt left turns and zany arrangements.
A good example is “Pyramid Scheme,” a sneaky little gem that begins with a brooding mid-tempo crawl and at the halfway mark flips its wig, with gang chants, a Jack and the Beanstalk citation and a passionate tangent that doesn’t let up till the dying seconds.
“Marlaina Kamikaze” is more leftfield fun wrapped in a perky pop package. Using tinges of cabaret and big band – the horns, the rimshots, the swinging groove – The Zolas certainly inject an element of effortlessness and amusement into their compositions that’s hard to come by these days.
“You’re Too Cool,” meanwhile, gets local, name-dropping Vancouver venue the Biltmore to depict a story where the band can’t quite live up to the pretentious hipster chick they have an eye on.
The Zolas are progressive yet pleasurable, taking chances that almost always pay off and proving rock music doesn’t always have to be so formulaic.
Artist: The Zolas
Album: Tic Toc Tic
Genre: Indie Rock
Author: Cam Lindsay
First Spin Live Until: November 24, 09
- Body Ash
- Cab Driver
- I’ve Got Leeches
- Marionettes
- Marlaina Kamikaze
- No Talking
- Pyramid Scheme
- Queen of Relax
- The Great Collapse
- These Days
- You Better Watch Out
- You’re Too Cool
Tags: zolas
Posted on Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 12:41 pm by Alberto and is filed under Reviews.
I saw thses guys open for Marianas Trench is June, and they were awesome. The song Marionettes is such an awesome song.I love it. Can’t wait till their debut album comes out. <3.