Zombi - Surface to Air (CD)

All Music Guide

Most indie labels stick to a certain uniform genre for the most part Sub Pop, SST, ROIR, Epitaph, etc. And Relapse is no different, as the majority of their artists are of the noisemetal variety. But a glaring exception is Zombi a Pittsburgh multiinstrumentalist duo, comprised of members Steve Moore and A.E. Paterra. Think Rush circa their peak Moving Pictures and Signals era with Alex Lifeson's guitar completely erased from the proceedings and you're not far off from what Zombi's sophomore effort, 2006's ‘Surface to Air,' sounds like. The label describes ‘Surface to Air' as ‘Less an album than a moving, breathing mass of symphonic sound,' and while it may sound a bit vague, they're right on with their assessment it's one of those releases that is meant to be listened to from beginning to end. And as a result, will take you one a heck of a synthled journey, especially such standouts as the album opening "Challenger," the part Devo/part ambient "Digitalis," and the slowly building ...title track. If you were to add Geddy Lee's unmistakable vocals, ‘Surface to Air' would certainly make one heck of a Rush release. Definitely a ‘headphone album' in the classic sense. - Greg Prato, All Music Guide Read more Less