REVIEW: Rediscovering the ’80s in a 21st century album
Dear fans who are still stuck in the ‘80s:
This week we decided to review the new album “Zonoscope,” by Cut Copy because we are attending an ‘80s dance party next month. No, you are not invited.
Alex’s Shoulder-padded Thoughts:
I have heard Cut Copy before. I had been moved by their ridiculously danceable revision of the 1980s. I had tasted the glitz and the glam that was suddenly re-coated with a sugar-laced veneer. This is one of the reasons I wanted to listen to “Zonoscope” by Cut Copy, the other was because I needed more of the similarly unique sound that I really liked.
“Zonoscope” is really hard to explain why it is so good. If I was to tell you, “Hey, this band is so dope, braha! It’s like they took everything good from the ‘80s and made it into something incredible! It’s like the Cars mixed with the Bangles and David Bowie,” you would probably tell me, “You are ridiculous. I hated the ‘80s.” Then I would be like, “No way brochief! You have to listen to it!” Then you would retort, “I never read your dang old music review because you suck.” This dispute would go on until I played it and you realized you should have listened to me.
Anyway, from the epic first track to the end, Cut Copy embodies a dead sound that was resurrected from the glory days of the ‘80s and met its younger son, indie-synth-pop, and from their father and son reunion, they made an amazing record. The synth sounds, even though they sound classic, are re-mastered through the modern looking glass.
“Pharaohs and Pyramids,” an almost entirely synth-based song, carries a darkness at the beginning reminiscent of modern electronica but then blooms with the major chords that where pioneered in the ‘80s. Dan Whitford’s vocals sound like if The Cars had reunited and recorded with lots of reverb. “Take Me Over” feels as though the guitar part would have fit nicely alongside a Go-Go’s song or a Bangle’s song. The first half feels like a dance party that was perfectly DJ-ed.
As though they could feel you getting tired of the glitz and glam, Cut Copy then switches gears and leaves the ‘80s for their own sound by the last half of the album. While it still keeps the spirit of the ‘80s with them, they travel off on their own. “This is All We’ve Got” reverbs beautifully and is reminiscent of MGMT’s “Congratulations” if “Congratulations” had more synthesizers.
The only thing that even came close to tarnishing this album was the length. Every song just felt a little long, and due to the repetitiveness of the electronic sound it lost its flavor after a while. Even though the lyrics are catchy and the songs have a structure that moves, the songs feel long. Of course, this might be a plus for all of you Daft Punkers out there that want to get into the groove of the song, but be warned: Your favorite moments may be surrounded by the recurring patterns. By the end, the songs seemed to drag on, especially the last track “Sun God” which is a 15-minuter with few highlights.
Bottom Line: If you want to feel good and relive youthful experiences, listen to “Zonoscope.” I doubt you will be disappointed, but if you are, you probably don’t read this anyway. I give “Zonoscope” 8 hairsprayed poufs out of 10.
Taylor’s review was written while in the bathtub drinking grape juice from a champagne glass:
Although the ‘80s were a fantastic decade where lots of great pop songs emerged, I feel like Cut Copy is just trying to live in the shadow of their legacy. Instead of coming out and creating their own unique sound, the songs from “Zonoscope” are just way too long copies of the ‘80s classics.
The opening track “Need You Now” was featured as a single of the week on iTunes last Monday and the review area was cluttered with mixed reviews. Along with many others, I thought iTunes chose a terrible song for that week’s single. The song starts by just repeating the same two beat rhythm over and over again with barely any change at all, and when the lyrics finally come they do nothing but disappoint. The second track, “Take Me Over” did a better job of sparking my interest, but my interest was short-lived as the album progressed to more disappointments. From the entire 11-track album only two songs stuck out to me: “Take Me Over” and the seventh track, “This Is All We’ve Got.” “This Is All We’ve Got” stood out to me mostly because it was the song that sounded the least ‘80s and broke away from the annoying, repetitive synth lines they had been using in all the previous songs.
Other than these two songs, the entire album “Zonoscope” was a disappointment to me. It might be because I’m more of a fan of the ‘70s and the ‘90s. It might be because synth-pop has always been my least favorite sub-genre of indie. It could also be that I’m growing tired of all the synth-pop music that is being released, but over all, the entire album lacked. All the time we were listening to it, I kept having the desire to zone out the music or change it to something else. This album would fall in the same category as most hip hop: only good for dancing.
To sum it all up, the album felt void of emotion, annoyingly long, predictable, incredibly repetitive and unoriginal. Call me a hater, but I’m fine with the direction the music of the world went, why bring back the past when it has lived its time, grown old and died?
If I was to do Alex’s stupid number rating system, I would give the album a 4 out of 10, but I don’t do his stupid number rating system and never will do his stupid number rating system, so as a result, you will never know my rating of this album via number.
Regrettably yours,
Alex or Taylor
– alexander.h.van_oene@aggiemail.usu.edu