In their short time, Z has established themselves as a rather limber and diverse stylistic undertaking. Their last album, BarbedWire.org, is a collection of relatively upbeat pop songs with a somewhat ominous and frantic tone that reveals itself throughout the course of the record.
MAGNUFEEK was an onslaught of four-on-the-floor beats and downright scary presentation; something Aphex Twin would be proud of. Prior tothat was a handful of singles either pulled from those releases or exploring other territory, like the somewhat post-punk, somewhat krautrock, somewhat dance-y “Pure Pleasure.” The throughline here is not to put any expectations on the band, as you’ve no idea what you’re going to get.
So, with that in mind, “Breeding Time, the latest single from their forthcoming Cold Lunch Recordings album Trauma Center is something entirely new. The video is as visually jarring as the track itself; complete with barked vocals, huge riff guitars and a general berating. It’s energetic, forceful and coming from a place of absolute catharsis. Compared against “Ain’t Nothing But a Thang” it’s hard to imagine the sounds coming from the same band.
That eclectic nature is exactly what makes tracking Z so rewarding. The previous album could have been a collection of J-Pop but that has zero bearing on what you’ll get next. Trauma Center comes out in July and is likely to follow suit, sonically, with the sneering style of “Breeding Time” and the previous release “Paper Rad” but there really is no way to make a confident prediction there and I, for one, am excited for it.