Album Review: Zulu Winter - Language

Zulu Winter
Language
Rating: Meh

UK quintet Zulu Winter come to the British guitar-centric rock table at the end of the evening when the plates all piled high and only dregs of wine remain left in the bottles, the cigarette smoke thick in the room, and most guests too drunk to remember their late arrival. Borrowing inspiration from bands such as Foals, The Maccabees, Wild Beasts, Two Door Cinema Club, and Bombay Bicycle Club, Zulu Winter's debut album Language is 11 tracks of slickly produced guitar pop that is perfectly serviceable and at times stirring, but often just fades into the background unable to make much of a impression. Language's tracks never muster up enough to make them stand out among their contemporaries, unable to provide the tension given by Foals and Wild Beasts, dance floor thumpers a la Two Door Cinema Club and Bombay Bicycle Club, nor even the swooning majesty of The Maccabees. The tracks hang suspended in some netherworld, never truly offending, but never really pulling their weight.

Language works best when Zulu Winter breaks free from the cookie cutter mold they choose for the majority of songs. "Small Pieces" has a nice, swirling quality to it, beds of synths holding up haunting shards of guitar.



"Words That I Wield" has a dense grandeur, relying on a steady build of ghostly keyboard into delicate guitars.



And I loved the sly, sexy "Let's Move Back To Front" with its jaunty beat, sparkling melody, and tongue in cheek vocals.



Closing track "People That You Must Remember" ends things on a high note, its rolling synth lines creating a lush atmosphere for an understated vocal and textures of treated guitars.



Aside from these standout tracks, the remainder of Language becomes fairly rote. Not that there are any blatantly awful tracks, if anything, these tracks are all very well-produced, there is just that lack of spark that makes them stand out in any way. From the plodding tempos of opener "Key To My Heart," which promises to build into something special, but never really goes anywhere, the Foals' lite "Bitter Moon," to the meandering prettiness of "Moments Drift," the tracks just never seem to get off the ground.

That these sort of songs form the majority of Language tends to overshadow when the band does make the right moves and just leaves me shaking my head. There is a good foundation here for something special, Zulu Winter just needs to find that something that will make them stand out from an already crowded pack. From Language, it is apparent Zulu Winter just isn't up to the task at present.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.