This is an incredibly talented group. The sound they create is diverse and often experimental. Yet, despite the far reaching explorations the group show, there is still an accessible quality to their sound. This isn’t music that will appeal to everyone, but it should find a pretty sizable potential audience. Those looking for a quick explanation or comparison might be placated with a simple “Red Hot Chili Peppers type music,” but really this band stretches further than the Chili Peppers ever did, both in terms of musical styles and instrumentation. This is truly creative music. Perhaps a closer explanation can be found by calling this a merging of the Red Hot Chili Peppers with Frank Zappa, jazz and Soul II Soul. In fact, that leaves an open enough swath to cover pretty much everything on this disc. It wouldn’t be out of the question to call this album progressive rock, at least in the respect that it is progressive in terms of stretching the boundaries of rock music. There are a few moments here that actually touch pretty directly on that genre, too.
With the amount of musical diversity on show, it’s likely that different listeners will be attracted to different parts of the set. The thing is, in terms of quality, it’s all equal, and at an exceptionally high standard. This is experimental and expansive music, but the talent never wavers. Of course, with that span of musical range, it’s also likely that listeners will never get a feeling of monotony or boredom from the album. Sure, some sections might put off a specific listener, but the feeling of repetition should not come into the equation.
The lyrics of the set seem to stretch well beyond the mundane and reach into the realms of political and social discourse and spiritual topics. This is, at times, heady stuff. Yet, it’s all held together with music that keeps it accessible. It should be noticed that there are points where the lyrics reach into territory that might not be suitable for children, so parents would be well advised to pre-screen the disc. The questionable lyrics aren’t frequent, though. There are plenty of opportunities for family listening, although some of the music here might be beyond the scope of children in terms of complexity.
In some ways, recommending specific tracks here is a futile approach. That’s because, as mentioned before, each listener’s musical history and tastes will come into play. Overall, though, the opener “Feed the Lie” and closer “Philosophical Part 2” seem among the strongest numbers on show. In some ways, putting such strong pieces as the first and last thing heard, makes the whole set feel that much more effective. The truth, though, is that every song on the set is exceptionally strong. There’s just such a wide range of musical expression that the listening experience will be deeply influenced by personal tastes. This release, though, shows that SCiZZORMAN is a musical force not to ignore. The songwriting and talent are formidable. Perhaps fans of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Frank Zappa will be the ones who “get” the album the quickest, but the appeal should stretch to all fans of creative and unique music. While parts of this set might resemble the music of other acts, SCiZZORMAN’s sound doesn’t call to mind any other musical artists’ work directly. This is also one of those releases that benefits from repeated listening. With added familiarity the mix of sounds and the complexity of the music works better. That is often true of some of the best music to be found. This album is likely to make the “best of 2011” lists of more than a few reviewers. It’s that good, and not in a pop sense, but in a real artistic way. Yet, the groove is never lost here.
Review by Gary Hill
Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)
