ALBUM REVIEW: Cut Copy - Zonoscope

(released on Modular, 2011)

Review by Daniel Hussey
                                             

3.5/5

Being renowned for their fusion of electro-synth and indie-pop, one might justifiably raise an eyebrow at the thought of Cut Copy taking on a step of experimentation in their latest album ‘Zonoscope’. That said, a band can never hope to retain a sense of currency (or indeed, much currency itself) if it fails to achieve artistic progression. So while there are a select number of misses on one or two tracks, Zonoscope’s overall hit-to-miss rate is pretty good for an album that can’t really fail to be noticed as boundary pushing.

As the safest song and the most poppy on the release ‘Take Me Under’ carries across an unmistakeable Cut Copy sound. This radio-friendly track loses nothing in its risk free nature. In fact it is likely the track that ‘makes’ the album – not in the sense that it is the best; but rather in the sense that it redeems Zonoscope from what might otherwise have been a dangerous excess of experimentation. ‘Take Me Under’ let’s you know right away that Cut Copy haven’t lost the vibe of earlier releases like ‘Lights and Music’ and ‘Hearts on Fire’.

Having made a firm and recognisable imprint of their earlier sound, Cut Copy quite rightly take steps outside the usual domain. Exemplifying this Zonoscope’s final track – the fifteen minute epic ‘Sun God’. Those hoping for a mix of samples from obscure 1950s films and the use of kitchen utensils as instruments will be disappointed (although I could be wrong about the latter…), but what ‘Sun God’ carries across in terms of experimentation is more of a shift in mood rather than method. Listening to it holds as a pleasant but rather unremarkable experience for the first third of the song, until the sudden realisation that one seems to be hearing a loosely structured jam session rather than a rehearsed song hits.

This ill-defined shift in mood is the best I can do to characterise the sense of artistic progression ‘Zonoscope’ spells out for Cut Copy. If you want further convincing, give some time to the second last track ‘Corner of the Sky’. Although its bulk doesn’t shift too far from Cut Copy’s typical style, the first minute of the song really leaves one guessing at what should actually be expected to follow. First we hear a dramatic, tension building, faded mix of trebly screeches – but then the disorder quickly shifts into a few moments of structure which seem to hint at an imminent high-energy crescendo which never comes. Instead we’re led back to a more conservative and recognisable Cut Copy sound. 

The mix of old and new should keep any fan happy regardless of said fan’s thoughts on the success of the mix, if only because it proves Cut Copy are pushing their sound along a number of paths without throwing away the so-loved identity solidified in 2008’s success ‘In Ghost Colours’. The listener may well have to do a bit of work to reconcile the gap between where the band is at now and where they were this time three years ago, but Zonoscope makes this as painless as possible by a fusion of familiarity and oddity.