Zs is an avant-rock band whose music relies heavily on extremely repetitive instrumental unison lines that barrage the listener in odd and almost constantly shifting time signatures, generally at high speeds. The whole band — whose lineup fluctuates but currently (and I think on this live CD) consists of two guitarists, one of whom doubles on keyboards, a saxophonist and a drummer — runs through these lines as if they were one, an impressive feat given that the music so frequently takes wild twists and turns, modulating weirdly and speeding up or slowing down unexpectedly. The technical virtuosity required to play this stuff is through the roof, and seeing them live is one hell of an experience as a result.Buck is a live recording of Zs' 2006 tour stops in New York and Pittsburgh. Originally released on cassette (those still exist? really?) in 2006, it was issued on CD in 2007 and shows the band at the powerful peak of its game. Featuring four tracks from the band's self-titled debut, two or three from 2007's Arms, and "Bump" from the Karate Bump EP, Buck offers a nice cross-section of the band's material, although it's difficult to tell whether or not there is a coherent evolutionary arc to their music since each studio album seems to have a bit of its own feel.
In any case, not surprisingly, the most enjoyable stuff here is the more intricate material where the mindblowing tightness of the band really shines through. "Retrace a Walk" from Zs is particularly fantastic (as of this writing you can hear it on the band's MySpace page) — it's amazing that a band can rock this much while concentrating so hard on their charts. There is absolutely no room for sloppiness in most of these compositions. "Nobody Wants to Be Had" is another good example; taken from the new Arms album, it incorporates vocals into the mix — but instead of being sung, they're chanted, with words tumbling forth from the two guitarists' mouths in rapid succession and, of course, in shifting meters. The vocals were a bit of an acquired taste for me, but it's great to see a group whose music doesn't get dumbed down when vox are added in; instead, these guys just do the same thing with their voices as they do with their instruments.
A "brutal prog" (or "brutal chamber") band like this naturally plays to tiny live audiences almost as a rule, and these recordings reflect that. Throughout the disc you can hear individual fans clapping, laughing, or yelling, although only on one occasion does it become intrusive. As the band flits its way through "Bump," a quieter if no less intricate composition than much of the other material, you can very, very clearly hear a guy yell out, "Slayer!" Audience members chuckle, the guy gets kicked out (which you can also kind of hear), only to return a few minutes later to scream, "Sheet music rules! Yeah fucking college!" and then get kicked out again. All this is actually pretty hilarious, and through it all the band never misses a beat, which is maybe the most impressive thing about the whole episode.
If you have a soft spot for minimalist chamber-rock and don't mind a total lack of melody, Buck is as good a place to start with Zs as any. Of course, pretty much any of their recordings are more or less astonishing. Sheet music rules, indeed.
review by Brandon Wu — 3-3-07 —
