Melbourne’s synthpop act Cut Copy have released their third studio album Zonoscope, recorded over several months, in their hometown and then mixed by Ben Allen (Deerhunter, Animal Collective and Gnarls Barkley) in Atlanta. The album was released on Modular Recordings on February 8. With their fame being stabilized by their second album, In Ghost Colours, released in 2008, the new album has been in the making since the comedown of their second album. Zonoscope is in the same ballpark as LCD Soundsystem and Phoenix, but throw in some 70s and 80’s, with just a dash of tropical summer beats.
The band, being around about a decade now, is very ambitious in the sense that they devoted a 15 minute block to the song “Sun God.” The song is one of the more immediate tracks in the sense that it has a more distinct sound and an entire minute of the mantra: “You’ve got to live, you’ve got to die, so what’s the purpose of you and I?” Then the song is swept away into a spiraling instrumental until the end of the album.
Though in that ambition, it could alienate those who were looking for a continuation of In Ghost Colours. Especially with the stark contrast from 30-second fillers that filled In Ghost Colours to the abstract instrumentals that divide the tracks, giving the listener a flowing album and something that wasn’t expected. These could easily be mistaken as flukes instead of the miniature bits of genius they are.
Even in the small bits of chaos throughout the album, the band’s soul is in every note that they hold on to and every lyric that frontman Dan Whitford sings is a dazzling soft silky tone that also hides a bite. The band has it all for sound, upbeat kaleidoscopic synths, soothing vocal hooks, tropical percussions, bouncing disco beats and a Caribbean vibe. The album in itself is a melting pot of all of these ideas with the same shimmer that led to the band getting to where they are now. “Take Me Over” is a brilliant display of almost all of these aspects, and with the catchy hook: “take me over, take me out, through the jungle, through the night, to paradise,” it is one that can be instantly loved. “Where I’m Going” is an explosive festivity of a rock ’n’ roll core with kaleidoscope synth. It explores a new place that the band has yet to go and a possible hint into where they could be going.
Zonoscope is the most pure form of Cut Copy and their boldest effort to date. It is something new and the band has been consistently making new music and pursuing new territories. Also, keep in mind that the childish mindset that was seen in In Ghost Colour is still there at the core, but has started along the path of maturity and is shown through Zonoscope.
Track Listing:
1. Need You Now
2. Take Me Over
3. Where I’m Going
4. Pharaohs & Pyramids
5. Blink and You’ll Miss a Revolution
6. Strange Nostalgia for The Future
7. This Is All We’ve Got
8. Alisa
9. Hanging Onto Every Heartbeat
10. Corner of the Sky
11. Sun God
