If there was ever an album to be described as epic, and in the actual definition of the word, not “epic” as in “cool”, this is that album. Hands down. Whether it’s a good or a bad thing, I can’t truly decide yet. Far and away the most sprawling and expansive album I’ve nearly ever heard, Spirit Animal is a rare treat for all those instrumentalist fans out there. It’s like a modern day Phish or Grateful Dead, minus the drugs and bad music, and with more synthesizers and keyboards. The shortest track runs seven minutes, three of them over 11 minutes, and plenty of tunage in between.
And I can’t tell, for the life of me, whether I like it or not. I mean sure, I can appreciate it musically and acknowledge the fact that the two guys are greatly talented, but I feel like if I was playing this in my room alone I’d rather not be caught doing so. Spirit Animal while at times mesmerizing, can get quote cheesy at time… there I said it. It’s just so, like I said, epic, that you just want to laugh at it and tell Zombi to stop taking themselves so seriously. But hey, maybe that’s it’s charm, that nothing else like this has existed on a mainstream level in a long time.
Another problem that I have with this album is that it become extremely repetitive, whether it’s in the structure of each song, or repetitive as a song itself. What Zombi does well it does very well. Heavy synth that matches the electro guitar, dark bass line, and drums that never stop, often breaking into few minute long jams that astound the listener. And all of that is great, it really is, but Spirit Animal kills it for me, sorry. I would probably be in love with this as a five track 24 minute long EP instead of this hour long five track whirlwind of an album. It’s all crazy stuff, maybe it’s over my head, I don’t know really. But what I so know is that Zombi can jam and put together some impressive material, it’s just that they do it for too long, and in an almost embarrassing fashion. I can be over kill, and it can be genius.
Lucky for you, Zombi is streaming the entire album. Or you can be lazy and grab on of the tracks below. I’d encourage checking out all of their stuff I’ve got posted here. I think you’ll definitely see what I mean about these guys. It’s worth your time.
6.5 never-ending drum solos and synth pedals out of 10
Stream: the entire “Spirit Animal” HERE
Zombi live @ the Empty Bottle in Chicago 4/28/07
MIND INVERSION 