Zombie Zombie — A Land for Renegades
There a two piece from France consisting of Etienne Jaumet who handles Keyboards, Eko Bass, Sound Effects & Electronic drums and Cosmic Newman(oh dear!) who handles Vocals/ Screaming, live drums, percussion & effects. There are also slight touches of guitar added by others, but for the most part this is about interlocking layers of retro sound synth and rhythm. Though vocals and screams are mentioned in the performers line-up, these are kept to a minimum which is a real pity as these track are some of the most rewarding and effective here. You see though it’s enjoyable enough much of the album sounds a little too samey and is somehow missing the edge of your Goblin or Carpenter- the tracks have all the elements in place it’s just theres no great spark & frankly it feels a little flat as a whole
On the plus side there are tracks that do show promise & make this worth a go such as the opener Driving Down this road until Death Sets us free, sounding like the more up beat and electro march moments of Goblins Soundtrack to Zombie/ Dawn of Dead soundtrack meets darker Tangerine Dream like 70’s bop, with an building great build atmosphere built from all manner of electro sound and sinister vocal noises. Or what’s Happening in the city? with it’s melancholy synth bop and throb, metallic tabular big –beat rhythm & nice edgy/effective touches of indie guitar. But what really sells the track are the mumbled/ panicked vocal touches that rises to an great goose bump inducing moment as the singer panics “the reason why you get hurt, or get bruised on you skin will not be easily explained” as his voice is stretched and tone bent sinisterly
So a debut that certainly shows promise for the future, they just need to make their sound more detailed and muilt-layered & also try to offer a more dramatic and filmatic contrast between tracks.