MASERATI/ZOMBI- Split LP
Temporary Residence Limited

Rating:  

Temporary Residence is a mecca for the fuzzed out, grand orchestration of guitars, loops, and pedals and a lab where bands experiment on limited pressings of hot rainbow colored vinyl before their next full length opus comes out. Over the years Temp Residence have given light to bands that do it loud yet pretty like Mono, Eluvium, Explosions in the sky, and Fridge.  This newest release split 12” holds the sounds of Zombi, a Frankenstein monster controlled by two people and held together tightly by bass, drums, and flux capacitor powered analog synthesizers and create a landscape that often times impersonates the soundtrack to the original Dawn of The Dead, and Maserati, who in their own bio describe themselves as “…a son of a bitch hell bent on dismembering every last vestige of the so-called indie rock establishment before it can drive the last nail in its messenger-bag-wearing coffin.”

Maserati continues their long journey away from the quiet then loud then back to quiet song structure that cages most post-rock defined bands. In their previous effort Inventions For The New Season Maserati broke away from those constrains and gave way to a new psychedelic sound that mixed spacey guitars mirroring Ash Ra Tempel and the best moments of Pink Floyd’s The Wall. All of this of course was on the foundation of Jerry Fuchs, of The Turing Machine and LCD Sound System fame, non-stop, systematic, crashes, and booms.

All four of Maserati’s tracks are a fireworks show of momentum and flare. At no point does Maserati indulge a temptation to get lost in a forest of ambient noise and loops that serve no purpose, they just keep pounding the beat, the melody, and the effects until a protagonist in the form of a synthesizer is forced to come in during ‘Thieves’ to slowly break down the force that carries over the previous three tracks…this prepares the ears for Zombi’s side in all of this.

Zombi puffs themselves up on this split, they’ve been called out on occasions for just having one aspect to themselves—the horror vibe—so they bring everything they got: guns, flares, drum solos, your moms two teeny dogs, synthesizers, and the desire to leave everyone wanting more. It works, Zombi works. I’ll admit the drum solo in the middle of the song had me leave and go get a sandwich on first listen, but after a few more times I came to love it, to just plain adore the audacity of it.

The beauty to capture in this split is not that both bands bring their A game (they do) it’s that their sounds, their songs, all come together as a single performance that gels into one nominal beast with no mess, and no fuss.

This review is courtesy of Matt DeBenedictis -
http://outthrowingroses.blogspot.com