But this is a very high 3 star rating that I recommend to anyone looking for energetic, synth-driven prog rock. This album does have its beautiful moments, though. A lot of "Night Rhythms" is cold, airy, windy, with serene synthesizers and Genesis' "Watcher of the Skies"-esque mellotron use, all of which work together to create a strong atmosphere that could suggest standing atop a snowy mountain and gazing above the stark, white landscape.
Aside from the electronics portion of the Zombi's sound, the bass and drums are equally important. The drums are also very powerful, fast, and full of forceful energy as they quickly bat their way through the soundscapes. I usually don't care much for drum kit usage in my prog electronic, but I think it works very well here. For me, the music of Zombi has been both an enjoyable experience, as well as an underwhelming one.
While the electronic music duo has always shown great signs of promise, their albums never seem to reach that expectation I have for them, although each album does seem to improve upon the former. Although there are still large spaces I think could have been greatly improved upon, Zombi's second album is a step in the right direction for their brand of atmospheric music.
Much like 'Cosmos', there are shorter tracks here amidst longer ones. While the long pieces here are still drawn out and feel somewhat aimless at times, Zombi has really tightened up their more concise songwriting, with the first two tracks 'Challenger' and 'Digitalis' both being under five minutes, and both being fairly successful tracks.
When it comes to the actual sounds that Zombi chooses to represent their compositions with, almost nothing has changed from the debut. Their sound heavily relies on synthesizer textures, and numerous spacial effects. Taking a greater role this time around are also the live instruments, which are comprised of bass and drums.
It is in the live instruments can really hear the obvious influence Rush has on this duo, with many of the drum sections sounding like something right out of the Neil Peart textbook. While the shorter songs have been improved upon, it still feels like Zombi is at their best when they go for the longer compositions. The final track 'Night Rhythms' is a fine example of this. While still feeling somewhat aimless in sections, the fact that Zombi has so much room to detail and work with their sound lets them create some very effective buildups and harmonies with the synths.
Quite clearly, Zombi is a band that does not work well when they have a defined song structure to adhere to, and instead are in their greatest element when left to explore. All the same, the lack of ideas and generally very long time it takes for these ideas to develop is not always worth the payoff at the end of a segment, making 'Surface To Air' a much less effective album than it could have been.
Regardless, 'Surface To Air' is a good album from this duo, and the first chronological album that I find valid enough to return to for repeated listens. Lots of background synths throughout this one. A great sounding tune that is quite heavy. This drives the song along as background synths then other synths that pulse help out with the rhythm section. So good! This is quite repetitive as they seem to jam.
Again the drumming is very upfront and incredible at the same time. A calm after 3 minutes as the synths roll in. So much atmosphere here then the drums kick in around 5 minutes as it builds.
A grand display of majestic synths slowly pulse then mellotron joins in. A change before 2 minutes as synths growl then haunting synths take over. The growly synths return as they pulse. Relative Q. Mike "APhew" Turman. Rey Barraza.
Purchasable with gift card. Challenger Deep Digitalis Legacy Surface To Air Night Rhythms The extraordinary two-piece Zombi has reappeared with Surface to Air, the long-awaited follow-up to its acclaimed debut Cosmos.
Surface to Air teems with the stirring, trance-inducing deluges of rhythm and sound the duo is renowned for. Swelling waves of melodic synth ride atop a broad bass and drum foundation. Sequences of repetition roll, build, and unfold with the measured patience of master artisans.
Less an album than a moving, breathing mass of symphonic sound; Surface to Air creates boundless moving pictures that are nothing short of breathtaking. Tags rock ambient hard rock instrumental instrumentals prog progressive progressive rock relapse records space rock synth synthesizer Pittsburgh.
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