Artist: Zoodrake
Title: Seven
Genre: Electronic Pop
Release Date: 1st October 2021
Label: Elektrofish
Album Review
Second album by singer and producer Hilton Theisson, and it’s as razor-sharp as a Pop album gets. Ten songs. More melody than should be feasible. Waggle-dancing like a big tease, before confidently knowing just exactly when to bound away and leave. ‘Seven’ is uncluttered and uncomplicated, yet nicely nuanced, and there is depth and surprise throughout, feeling refreshingly natural and organic and completely lacking in pretentions. A rare thing indeed.
Once ‘Success Of The Snake’ slinks and slithers from your speakers, you’re in - and there’s not really much let-up. This is an album where chorus is King, and if this one doesn’t snatch you by the scales, the next one will - it’s hook after hook in here. ‘Nothing’s Wrong’ - one of the excellent choices to be a single - is aptly named, as it is efficiency personified, albeit with a warmth and beauty that’s like a wry smile put to music. You seem to recognise this instantly, yet it’s absolutely original and true to its own little universe. Pop perfection.
Elsewhere, there’s a much darker vibe shimmering through the title track and the slow pulse of ‘New Oceans’, the latter glistening with a cautious optimism that reflects these odd times we still find ourselves meandering through. And ‘Chant’ eases the album to a close in a reverb-drenched orgy of voice and understated synths. Gorgeous.
There are plenty of places to go with this project, and that’s always a good sign. It doesn’t feel trapped in a particular genre, or a musical cage of its own making. There are some lyrical tweaks that could be made, and occasionally the melody puts a toe over the line into cliché (‘Bleed Amongst Vamps’ is wobbly, somehow unsure of its merit) but that really is splitting hairs when ‘Seven’ is viewed as a whole, a complete piece of work. Because it’s a significant achievement in a crowded market-place, and is neither pop-fluff nor stuffed with over angsty hand-wringing. Balance is everything, and this is weighted quite beautifully.
Tracklist
01. Success Of The Snake
02. Jackal Parade
03. Bleed Among Vamps
04. Seven
05. Right Back
06. Nothing’s Wrong
07. Hit The Ground
08. New Oceans
09. Little Mantra
10. Chant
Line-up
Hilton Theissen
Website
https://www.zoodrake.de / https://www.facebook.com/zoodrake
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 8
Sound: 8
Total: 8 / 10
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