w/SunTzu Sound DJs AC Lewis and J-Justice
Tues June 1, Showbox, 8 pm, $15 adv/$18 DOS.
Zero 7 are often described as the UK's answer to France's Air. Indeed it was even rumored that Air released their CD Talkie Walkie earlier than expected (late January) to avoid being too close to Zero 7's When It Falls (early March). True, similarities exist between the two acts, but for the most part they are insignificant. Zero 7 is closer to hiphop and Air is closer to rock, which is why comparing Zero 7 instead to Bristol's Alpha (whose third CD, Stargazing, was released last month in the U.S.) is more productive. (Almost immediately after their first album came out, Zero 7 released a compilation CD, Another Late Night, that was dominated by hiphop.)
On their debuts (Zero 7's Simple Things, Alpha's Come from Heaven), the influence of hiphop is strong; on their follow-ups (Zero 7's When It Falls, Alpha's The Impossible Thrill), it's weak. Aesthetically speaking, the most interesting aspect of Come from Heaven and Simple Things is that both have a luxurious sense of space. The songs are broad and patiently built. The same is also true with their follow-ups, but what's missing (or only suggested) is the hiphop support.
But whereas Alpha's second CD, The Impossible Thrill, benefited from letting go of hiphop (sampling, programmed beats, and so on) and utilizing live instruments, the case is not so for Zero 7. Without the framing beats, the beautiful vocals and dreamy melodies seem a little too facile, too loose. But this does not mean When It Falls is at all bad; almost anyone who wants to be seduced by pretty sounds will automatically enjoy it.
