joy zipper - the heartlight set
this being the bands third album finds the nyc based duo of vinny and tabitha in a strange position in that while they promote the previous album 'america whip' in america, they are set to start promoting their new album in the uk.
putting all that aside however, things shouldn't be too weird as the 13 songs on offer are a continuation of the groove that the happy couple create in their etherworld. basically the album is a case of 'if it aint broke - dont fix it'. sunshine harmonies, boy-girl vocals, and sweetly fuzzed up guitars all blended to form a rather fine finished result. however, this album has none of the famous much mentioned involvement from kevin (mbv) sheilds like 'american whip', so the layered effects are kept to a bare minimum making this a much warmer sounding record. from time to time the sound is a little more roughed up than previously, probably a knock on effect from the hard gigging that the fleshed out live band put in last year. but amongst the harder riffs are the usual david lynch-esque atmosphere and sublime acoustic touches involving delicate strings and faraway trumpet, and even vinny whistling on 'thoughts a waste of time' !
the album hits the road running with an excellent handclap rhythm and propelled fuzz of 'go tell the world' where tabitha sounds like a far more worldly wise rock chick than we are used to, and having great fun in the process. the fact that this is a song inspired by a bird talking to vinny only adds to the impression that these people interact with the world through a very different perspective. the album continues for the next 45 minutes with dips into country and western ('you've changed'), twang guitars ( on the truly gorgeous 'world doesn't care'), mellow grooves, and the addictive chorus's, for example, check the funky loop of 'rockdove' and see if you can lodge the song out of your head.
one minor gripe could be that 3 of these tracks were originally released on the bands stop gap minilp 'the stereo and god' which came out last year, but these tracks have been revisited with the new found sonic confidence and fit in perfectly with the new songs, making the gripe disappear in a puff of smoke.
so slide this album alongside the bands previous releases and just enjoy it whenever the mood requires your modern day tensions to be soothed and caressed by some classic guitar based pop songs.
extras : interview, reviews of previous releases : here