Zs

Xe

BY Nilan PereraPublished Jan 27, 2015

7
We live in interesting times, musically. Never has there been such instant and complete access to the multiplicity of genres and histories of music. While this creates a cornucopia of listening potential for the consumer, it also creates a place where artists can make their connections and syntheses with no restrictions save for skill and creativity.
 
Zs choose to create some of the most radical mash-ups of form and content that have ever made any music marketer's life a living hell. On Xe, industrial skronk meets free-jazz saxism meets math-rock meets marching band serialism meets ambient drone-age. I mean, if it wasn't for the fact that they make eminently coherent and vital music, one could conclude that this release was an experiment in ADD-fueled randomness.
 
Once a sextet, Zs strip down to a ferociously direct and cutting trio here, issuing a challenge to the audience to listen up and pay attention, if they really claim to be fans of music. This is art rock at its finest.
(Northern Spy)

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