Renee Zawawi - Legends - CD
(Renee Zawawi)
Poor Renee, she really has had a traumatic youth that should never
have happened to anyone. The fact that she got out of it and has a great
attituide and tries to do so many good things is a testament to how wonderful
and strong of a person she is. On top of that she is beautiful and has done
modeling along with giving music and acting a shot.
Right now I'm talking about the music and her attempt to make a dance album.
Renee really wants to be a singer and puts everything she can into
the lyrics and vocals. But wants and hopes do not make good songs. The backing
beats are all decent and could be at home in any dance club, however her
vocals get to be torturous on some tracks. Like the poor phrasing and simplistic
nature of "American Girrl" or the childish "Flirt With Me". I really don't
know what she's going for here. The lyrical phrasing just conflicts with
the beats and the result is more times than not a train wreck. I wish I
could like this, but instead most songs just make me cringe.
-- Grog Mutant (2007)
Mario Martin Zelaya - Calafia's Moods - CD
(Calafia Music)
"In Review"
-- (2008)
Zen Boy & Karma Girl - Who They Are And How They Came To Be - CD
(Zen Boy &
Karma Girl) I expected this bizarre duo to have a really crappy disc.
Unfortunately, this one's pretty good. Their chosen band image is bizarre
and embarrassingly so. They apparently want people to believe that they're
from outer space, but they sadly don't have anything in common with Sun
Ra. However, as I've said, the CD is pretty good, with surprisingly crisp,
lush sound that never is irritating to listen to. The songs are somewhat
lacking and repetitive, but on the whole, it's nice soft-rock/alt.folk music,
with interesting sounds and perfectly pitched vocal harmonies. But why try
to harm their own thing with awful, patchouli-smelling names and a stupid
made-up backstory?
-- Jeremy Mutant (2006)
Zero 7 - The Garden - CD
(Atlantic Records)
The third album of this English band was a pleasurable listen. Each song
on the album seems so different than the one before it, yet the band makes
it work. The soulful female vocals of Sia, remind me of Vanessa Carlton
while the male vocals consisting of Henry Binns, Sam Hardaker (the two original
Zero 7 band members) and Jose Gonzalez brought Simon and Garfunkel
to mind. The CD brings together songs with a jazzy blues feel and vintage
folk while using synthesizer and xylophone to enhance their sound. I think
my favorite song on the album is "Waiting to Die," which strangely, seems
very pleasant. This is a very unique band with lots of talent. If you're
looking for something new and exciting check them out.
-- Simi Mutant (2006)
The base sound of Zero 7 is melodic with amazing female vocals and
arrangements that have an underlying Burt Bacharach flow to them.
While there are a couple of tunes with male vocals, the songs with the females
vocals taking the lead are superior. The opening tune “Futures” reminds
me of The Alan Parsons Project, while “Seeing Things” is a calliope
and female vocals driven tune with a Combustible Edison feel. My
fave on this release is the sultry female tune “If I Can’t Have You” which
reminds me a bit of Portishead.
-- Mite Mutant (2007)
Zero Hour - The Towers of Avarice - CD
(Sensory / The Laser's
Edge) With a touch of Dio in the vocals, Zero Hour has
a very percussive metal sound. The guitar and bass are grinding while the
drumbeats are more complicated and more interesting as compared to other
bands that are on the metal scene today. The music overall dares to reach
into areas that most metal bands fear to tread. This is very cool stuff.
-- Mite Mutant (2001)
Zerodown - With a Lifetime to Pay - CD
(Fat Wreck Chords)
Another one of your classical Fat Wreck Chords bands. This record label
certainly knows what sound they want to promote. Fast melodic pop punk that
just plain rocks. In fact I just watched the movie Glory Daze this
past weekend and any song on this release would have fit in perfectly on
the soundtrack. Hell they might have even been on it, I'll have to check
again.
-- Mite Mutant (2001)
Zeromancer - Eurotrash - CD
(Zeromancer) Eurotrash
is right. These guys are the children of the early 80's new wave movement
ala Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Sigue Sigue Sputnik and A
Flock of Seagulls. They have some good industrial / goth / electronica
tendencies, but underneath it all they are new wave pop for the 00's. As
a background or for dancing it's fine, but their lyrics are lame. Here's
a sample from the song " Eurotrash" (We are Nothing but Eurotrash / We Take
Plastic We Take Cash / We sell our hearts second class / We slit our throats
on tinted glass) Wow, deep and poignant. This is definitely a case of style
over substance and if you're into that feel free to indulge.
-- Grog Mutant (2002)
Rob Zombie - The Millenium Collection - CD
(Universal
Records) Churning crunchy guitars, rhythmic industrial dance beats,
macabre lyrics… It must be Rob Zombie. This best of compilation offers
up some of the best Mr. Zombie’s work from his days fronting the band White
Zombie to music from his cult classic movies, House of 1000 Corpses
and The Devils Rejects. Picking up the heavy industrial dance sound
that Ministry helped create, Rob Zombie helped propel the
genre into a realm all his own. This includes all your faves including “Thunderkiss
’65,” “Black Sunshine,” “Dragula,” and so much more.
-- Mite Mutant (2006)
Zombie - Live - CD
(Universal Music
Company) "In Review"
-- Sitcom Serf (2007)
Zom Zoms - Yellow Rainbow - CD
(Omega Point
Records) There's a very strong Devo influence on this synth intensive
band. There's also a hint of the cult band Residents in the songs
as well. The release starts off good enough with synth work that recalls
earlier XBXRX coupled with a Devo lyric and vocal style. My
biggest problem is that as the CD progresses the band starts to focus too
much on the quirkiness of their style and vocals instead of writing good
songs. This ended up turning the band into nothing more than a novelty act.
-- Mite Mutant (2006)
Paul Zunno - Solo Acoustic - CD
(Zunno) When I first
started listening to this folk disc I was struck by the similarity to Tom
Waits. I later found that he covers a Tom Waits song on the release
as well as songs by Dolly Parton, Bob Dylan, The Doors
and Doc Pomus. Paul is an accomplished guitarist, having played with
Wilson Pickett for seven years, as is evidenced by listening to any
song especially the acoustic "Mexico". Some of the songs, like "Baby Please"
& "Lonely Avenue" have a decidedly blues feel to them, which suites his
rough voice well. One of the best songs on the whole release is his haunting
cover of the Dolly Parton song "Jolene". If you like songs on the
mellower side with a lot of emotion in them then give this disc a whirl.
-- Grog Mutant (2008)