Customer Reviews

American Whip

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If the White Stripes got really, REALLY stoned, they might sound something like Joy Zipper.

This talented duo smothers any sign of a sophomore slump in "American Whip," with its lush mesh of sixties psychedelica and shoegazer pop. The resulting album is languid, expansive and dreamy, but laced with a dark edge that you won't find in any Zombies or Beach Boys album.

The delicately blurred "Sunstroke" slowly opens into a whimsical little love song: "I need you more than the rain in springtime/love you more than the open sea." It's an exceptionally sweet song, and it does lure you in. But don't expect all to be happiness and light -- despite the colorful, hazy sound, the songs can get pretty grim at times.

Examples: The swirling lo-fi pop number "Alzheimer's" is from the POV of an old woman with Alzheimer's Disease. "Why do I keep forgetting my name?/Maybe it's something I ate/What is this terrible thing coming over me?" Vincent Cafiso drones. Parent/child alienation. And odes to "Drugs" and magic mushrooms.

Despite their obvious debts to bands like Stereolab, Zombies and fuzzy psychpop, Joy Zipper doesn't sound specifically like anything but itself. The duo's hazy, mellow music just sweeps the listener off their feet, as it brings to mind visions of California sunshine, summer days, flowery fields... and lots of drugs.

Cafiso and his bandmate Tabitha Tindale share keyboard duty, weaving a thick electronic fog around Cafiso's slow-burning guitar riffs and mellow basslines. There are some guest musicians, mostly contributing violins to songs like "Dosed and Became Invisible," which has a strong string presence from beginning to end.

Cafiso and Tindale have wonderfully synchronised vocals -- he sounds stoned and melodic, she sounds ethereal. And they're suited to the smart lyrics: "I dosed and became invisible/A compilation of my dreams/Exploded in my sleep." The "Alzheimer's" song hedges on bad taste when Cafiso sings about Ivory soap, but the lack of humor saves it from seeming grossly insensitive.

Like a shoegazer Fiery Furnaces or a stoned White Stripes, Joy Zipper churns out beautifully foggy rock music. "American Whip" is definitely worth checking out.

I'd never heard of this band before, and at first they struck me as any old chillout band: pretty girl, quiet guy, gentle, pastoral summer afternoon music. But this record unravels its charms subtly and slowly until you are intoxicated. Weaving psychadelica, indie, space-rock and pop into one coherant whole, its full of gorgeous harmonies on tracks like the understated but ecstasy-inspiring 'Christmas Song', like a collision between European chillout and sweet, US indie music. The album benefits very much from the excellent production of the brilliant David Holmes.

Both of them have lovely voices, particularly the girl, who has one of those sweet, innocent American voices you could just die for. 'Baby You Should Know' is driven by rock guitar and a soulful feel that makes it a catchy, brilliant pop song somewhat reminiscent of Grandaddy. The uptempo, wistful optimism of 'Out of the Sun' breaks your heart with its beauty, 'Dosed And Became Invisible' is all gorgeous, hovering strings and 'Ron' is just as great a bittersweet, immense song about time and death and the Flaming Lips have ever mustered. Things close with the immediate, simple, inspiring 'Valley Stream'. Quirky, catchy, and sugar-sweet, this is the perfect soundtrack for 2004 as summer approaches. Pretty near perfect.

This was way too strange. I heard 33x on XM's XMU station. I write down the group and song. I am unfamilar. I buy American Whip. I also buy the first album... with nary a listen at all. I think there are elements of Stereolab, Ivy, Flowchart, My Bloody Valentine, Lush, and maybe even that vocal standard of Juliana Hatfield from just a limited exposure to a single song. I knows what I like. I jump.
When I get the album American Whip, I am reading thru the liner notes.. so who is doing some of the mixing? None other than Kevin Shields... what the.... no wonder I like it. I wondered what he was doing since there is no other MBV album on any horizon since Loveless. The sound is unmistakable... you can hear that poppy vocal sound along with great guitar riffs and analog electronics.
To say the least, both albums are excellent. They are on continuous play. I purchased everything else I could find. That should tell you something.

I saw Joy Zipper play at the Avalon in Hollywood about a month ago and thought they were amazing. I had heard their album once before seeing the show and liked it, but now i'm just obsessesed with it. It's got that Beach Boy feel to it but with much darker lyrics. I highly recommend it!

Albums of this quality are a rare commodity these days and this goes especially for rock. The sound, though not ground breaking, is fairy uncomplicated, guitar-based psychedelia with some striking vocals. Not only are they fabulously produced to an arguably deeper emotional level than the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows," but they lyrically tackle some frankly dark and thought provoking subject matter. Aside from the obviously depression founded "33x," "Dosed And Became Invisible" relates one of the least glamorizing yet knowledgeable accounts of psilocybin mushroom use I've heard on record, and lord knows I've looked. One of the most spiritually educational drugs, and completely natural at that, theories even circulate about the symbiotic relationship we have with them, that is they could have been the black omen from "2001: A Space Odyssey" which jumpstarted our evolution and gave us such gifts as insight, religion, philosophy, and much more. It's no giggling hippy account but a contemplative celebration and subtle encouragement for this spectacular, naturally growing fungus. "Alzheimers" has to be the most powerful song here though with its gripping sample of an old woman trying to guess her own age and coming up about thirty years short to which the melancholic drone of Vincent Cafiso and Tabitha Tindale lends its most fitting atmosphere and brings much needed attention to a truly paralyzing and family stressing disorder propagated by chemicals and additives that governments and the industries that support them shroud in lies. Calling this a Rock album would be an insult to its integrity. This is a compelling work of emotional magnitude that should be taught from in schools.

This CD is a must have! It has true feeling, great sound, incredible vocals & more. I remember watching Tab & Vin practice/ Jam back in East Meadow NY back in the mid 90's, I knew then that eventually they would make it big. I hear they have some new songs on myspace. My opinion is go out and buy this cd.

Some days there is just nothing more enjoyable than sitting in the open air - whether on a porch, or near a lake; it's just down right refreshing... Every once in a while, you might see something that provokes deep thought, or maybe a sweet smile... American Whip by the Joy Zippers brings that feeling to mind through the ears. Yes, an 'Ahhhh' to my ears & mind it is.

of course joy zipper owe a lot to 60's 'surf's up' period beach boys amongst others, but they have enough wit and verve to be their own thing too.
It should be noted they have a knack for a catchy chorus (i've been singing the words from christmas song' i love you more than a thousand christmases' all week ) and a sense of humor, albeit a little sick (see 'alzheimers')
The overall effect of listening to this album is like a drugged out day at the beach in late summer. You know that it's all going to be winding up soon and that you're never going to be happier than you are at that moment

I'm not going to go into much detail here, because there isn't much to comment upon. It's not unpleasant. I'm an amateur musician and my tastes are pretty broad.