ZAZA

Originally released as a free download, NYC's Zaza have signed with Kanine, the label that introduced the world to Grizzly Bear, Chairlift and Oxford Collapse, to give their debut EP a proper release. Although it's just Jennifer Fraser (ex-Warlocks) and Danny Taylor, Zaza's use of swirling textures and hefty, driving drums fill a sound that suggests a band twice the size. While there is more than just a series of reference points, it's hard not to hear the fluid bass lines and swelling guitars of Nowhere-era Ride. And while there is plenty of evidence suggesting they worshipped the scene that celebrated itself, Zaza aren't one-dimensional shoegaze-huggers. There's darkness in the music deep from within their city's underbelly — the same edge that inspired the brooding, cinematic scope of bands like Calla and Interpol. Though it now comes with two extra tracks, Cameo does feel a bit short for such epic music, but that just builds more anticipation when they finish a full-length of this sombre dream pop.