Zero 7 - The Garden

Zero 7 are an electronica duo (Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker) that were suddenly introduced to a ton of new fans by way of their song "In The Waiting Line" which was featured on the soundtrack to Zach Braff's "Garden State". Now, although I feel that the soundtrack gave a lot of exposure to bands I personally feel fall into the "good but not THAT good" category, I really like Zero 7. On their latest release, the band finds themselves expanding a bit. The electronica is still there, but they also deliver some solid pop songs, and some downright majestic pieces. The instrumentals on the album have a certain European art film feel to them, and the vocal performances are as smooth and sultry as they come. Sia Furler (the "guest" vocalist who has appeared on every album thus far) sings on 6 of the songs, and while every once in a while she gets a little bit too Nelly Furtado-ish to me, for the most part, I find it very soothing. Jose Gonzalez also provides some of the vocals, and he's always been good at the Nick Drake-by the campfire sound. I also love how many of the songs perhaps start out sounding somewhat pedestrian, but then the harmonies kick in with a CSNY-type of warmth that immediately brings me to my happy place. "The Pageant Of The Bizarre" is an example of this. The choral singing in the second half of this song elicits the same awe-struck reaction from me every time. And I also love the song "Throw it All Away" which also starts out a certain way, before it culminates to a "Countdown To Ecstasy" era Steely Dan style crescendo. Admittedly, some fans have been crying 'sellout' on this album because it is slightly more uptempo than what Zero 7 has provided us with lately, but I feel that overall it has been a very successful experiment and I like this CD a lot.

Downloads:
Futures mp3
Throw It All Away mp3

Purchase "The Garden" here.
The Zero 7 myspace page!
The Sia Furler myspace page!
The Jose Gonzalez myspace page!