Zeal - Shades Of Gold

Zeal - Shades Of Gold

Zeal, champion of the word and wonderful, continues a strong showing with his newest release Shades Of Gold, displaying an ability to retain the same pull while doubling down on a subtler, more sophisticated sound.

Opening titular track Shades Of Gold has an almost nursery rhyme aesthetic, while creepily innocent keys completing the look. Delicate as this track is, do not be mistaken in assuming passivity or shyness. Shades… has a razor wit and a macabre appeal. Retaining the lo-fi aesthetic and far-flung intentions allows Zeal to sound both vintage and futuristic simultaneously on this track.


While Shades of Gold remains full rooted in the dirt, closer Echoes On Stars takes us to the clouds. Zeal retreats to his roots, which is always a nice thing to do when you’re emulating Bowie and Neil Young. Sounding like a cowboy from Saturn, this intergalactic ballad is a curious mix of folk and space rock. Filled with his calling card weirdness, Zeal remains firmly out of place, a location that suits him perfectly.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Stayne - Parachute

Image
Stayne - Parachute Derry singer/songwriter Stayne makes a highly anticipated return to the ‘new releases’ column with ‘ Parachute ’. A self-described pop artist who brings “something a little different,” his newest single pulls no punches. On his latest, the ‘I slay ’ performer tackles everything from alcoholism, spirituality and needing someone to hold on to a 'human parachute.’ Know to fuse his lyricism with introspection and self-worth before sending them out into the world, Stayne’s newest is his best so far. The warm gruff vocals of the walled city resident flow into range, telling a tale of victory and failure. A stripped back arrangement of keys and ghostly strings help elevate the vocal message, ultimately committing addition by subtraction. Wallowing in a more subtle sound than would be expected from pop allows Stayne to bring his voice to the forefront, giving lines such as “I’m a whole different man when I’m holding a beer” a new gravity. With this being
Read more

Stone Broken, Those Damn Crows + Baleful Creed - 10th February 2019

Image
Stone Broken, Those Damn Crows + Baleful Creed - 10th February 2019 As I make my way down fountain street, my breath materialises in front of me. As it dissipates into the night, a low rumbling grows. It’s emanating from the top floor of local music hostelry Voodoo, which plays host tonight to a contingent of hard rock fanatic and headbang enthusiasts. The scuzz is palpable as I make my way through the door. First onstage is Belfast’s own Baleful Creed . The heavy rock quartet, known for their weighty riffs and ruthless demeanour, are having some fun tonight onstage. While sticking to the meat and bones of their gruff sound, we are treated to some wavey psychedelic blues in between licks. These deviations don’t last however, and it’s not long before pounding drum fills are shaking my back wall table and gruff, leathery textured vocals are searing the paint of the wall. Ripping up the stage with a prehistoric sound steeped in the blues (a wild harmonica appears for a moment),
Read more

The Hunna - Dare

Image
The Hunna - Dare  Hertfordshire four-piece The Hunna have returned with their newest endeavour Dare, an album that screams “all filler no killer.” Most bands struggle with their second release and The Hunna are no exception. Just as Arctic Monkeys were the first ‘youtube’ band to make it big, The Hunna shunned the circuit for Facebook presence, which worked very well for them as regards to their fanbase. Unfortunately for the rest of us, this did not translate into good music. While I appreciate there are very few Alex Turner/Paul Weller types in the world, Dare is sonically and nigh unforgivably boring even in this era of repetition and dishonesty. There is a formulaic, synthetic feel to the album that sounds not only tiresome but outright disingenuous. Music is amazing because it's organic and primal, it comes from a place of sweat that travels ‘from heart to limb, to pen’ (Bryan Fallon, Handwritten, 2013). This is where the magic comes from, but Dare sounds more akin to
Read more