Zombi

Surface To Air

[4/5] While there’s good reason to distrust hyperbole, sometimes nothing else works: There is no other band on the planet right now that sounds like Zombi. Thirty-some odd years ago–which is around the time this Chicago/Pittsburgh duo’s synthesizer tone first came into vogue–there was Tangerine Dream; and, if you’re a fan of the Goblin/Dario Argento and John Carpenter horror-movie soundtracks whose weird, synthesized tension-and-release is Zombi’s closest sonic counterpart, you’ll notice the similarities. But it’s doubtful many modern reference points invade the creative space of bassist/synth operator Steve Moore and drummer A.E. Paterra, and on their second album, Surface To Air, the duo create an analog-warm vacuum from which no head under 30 can escape. “Digitalis” and the title track bounce Jan Hammer synth licks off brisk 7/16 grooves; “Legacy” finds Wendy Carlos jamming with Rush’s Neil Peart; and the eerily atmospheric, 19-minute closing track, “Night Rhythms,” sounds like the soundtrack to a ’70s Italian horror short, complete with closing credits and a pulse-quickening chase scene. It’s an album that works visually as well as it does aurally, and either way, it’s fearsome to behold.
(RELAPSE) Aaron Burgess