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Band: New Zero God
Album title: Short Tales & Tall Shadows
Release date: 15 March 2016
Label: Self-Released
Tracklist:
01. King Pest The First
02. Deadly Dollhouse
03. Garden Of Mazes
04. Cloud Of Dreams
05. Shut Up
06. Down The Rabbit Hole
07. My Reaper
08. Bastards
09. She’s Electrified
10. Ouroboros
A nice surprise from the vaults of Greek cult post-punk/gothsters New Zero God. The band is just out with this third album, a successor to their in 2013 released MMXIII, and to tell you the truth, they done their best job so far. Short Tales & Tall Shadow is a collection of darkened stories expressed through ten quite theatrical tracks. If you follow the post-punk and gothic rock scene you must have come across the name New Zero God already, but if you haven't than shame on you. The band is active for a long time, in their biography you'll find also connections with bands such are The Mission and The Sisters Of Mercy, some of the band members were active already in the early 80s, initially in the cult post-punk band The Flowers Of Romance, and in the now defunct industrial rock act Nexus.
With Short Tales & Tall Shadows New Zero God unites all the best elements from their past and adds a new note into their music. Even though everything at first sight sounds quite unpolished and vintage, there's still that poetical charm present all over, but in some of the tracks I was quite amazed by the catchiness and haunting melodic structures of the tracks. This album is absolutely darker than their previous two, as well it's a bit more psychedelic, and the songs are better connected between each other, there's some kind of a strange narrative character present in some of the tracks. Mike Pougounas' vocals are better than ever, his charming raspy deep darkened soaring voice really stands out, here and there I find it like a crossing between Wayne Husey and Nick Cave. The two stand out tracks like are the driving rather rockabilly smelling groover "King Pest The First" and the melancholic "Garden Of Mazes", which enthuses with nice classical strings and strong emotional, yet quite popy melody, are maybe the best thing this band ever did. The driving "My Reaper", or the dramatic atmospheric goth rock tune "Down The Rabbit Hole", are also very nice listens, pure examples of the band in its peak. But as well the tracks like it is "Deadly Dollhouse" with its theatrical speech that blends well with the ambiental basis and later on expands into the proper outpouring of emotions with sparkly but yet gloomy synths which are perfectly well inserted into the whole picture.
Short Tales & Tall Shadows is more emotional than anything done before by New Zero God. The strong reverberate bass guitar is more primal, it has became maybe the most exposed instrument. Also guitar job is great, always riding between the dirty smelling garage rock, typical goth and aggressive punk. There's a lot going on and the listener won't get boring for a second. Even though I wasn't at all thrilled when I heard the in your face thrown punchy punkish "Shut Up", which in my opinion just electrifies well the ambiance on live shows, and psychedelic mantra of "She’s Electrified", the album works out quite coherently and is dynamic by all means. Short Tales & Tall Shadows is a nice listen, adventurous, and should satisfy at the first place the most demanding post-punkers and only then gothic rockers. With its rather dramatic song structures, dirty sound and rough vintage production it will best appeal to those into 80s sounds, but even so, New Zero God sounds still contemporary and this album is a nice addition to the more or less stagnatic genre.
Review written by: T.V.
Rating: 7,5/10
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