Customer Reviews

The Garden

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

Wow. This was truly different than what I expected, even after hearing samples and reading reviews that this is far from a "Simple Things II."

While I would have loved another chillout album, the music I got was good AFTER the second spin and the shock wore off. Let me repeat -- AFTER the second spin. (The first spin had me thinking I would be selling it.)

Some people here have mentioned Steely Dan in Zero 7's new vibe. I can hear that; but for me, this album sounds a lot like it could have come from 1969 interpreted in an 80's fashion, like Z7 had been listening to some early Cardigans music among other material (not a bad thing at all -- just so different for Z7). To explain further: the melodies, thought-provoking lyrics, and arrangements are more 60's hippie-trippy than trip-hop, like psychedelic Jimmy Webb pop meets mellow Pink Floyd. Darker than sunshine pop, but far from gothic. All that is contained within the trappings of many 80's elements that are all the rage right now.

And to my ears, it works. AFTER the second spin.

Again, even though I personally would have preferred another chillout album, there is enough Z7 spice and intelligence to make this set a keeper. Not only that, the group is smart enough to recognize that the chillout craze won't last forever. This latest musical direction shows at least one alternate route that they could successfully take without being dangerously typecast in nu-lounge.

It's refreshing to see a talent like Zero 7 be able to switch directions and still pull off quality material. That doesn't happen often. While I do hope that they include some more of what made them famous next time around -- some "Simple Things" stuff -- it will be interesting to see what new ideas they have up their sleeve.

Recommended for: those willing to try something new that might be a slightly acquired taste. Acquiring that taste will be well worth it.

You have to admire the evolution of an artist when they appear sincere about their journey. This is the way I've been viewing the new Zero7 album `The Garden'. Of course this doesn't mean that if you attempt a new direction that everyone's going to like it. But for mine, if Zero 7 would have rewritten what were their other albums, although I would have still purchased it and enjoyed it, I probably wouldn't have been passionate enough to write about it.

This album showcases some almost forgotten influences from the 70's making for what I believe is one of the freshest sounding releases in this genre. There's a Steely Dan (fantastic group) feel throughout with the work of Alan Parsons (Dark Side of the Moon, I Robot) propping up the overall sound and production. I've also heard Fleetwood Mac named in other reviews. There's even homage to Nick Drake with `Left Behind'. What Zero 7 have done is take some of the best elements of these and others and made a new kind of downtempo album. The key focus this time is on the song writing with a more organic sound.

I love Air, Blue States, Lemon Jelly and Royksopp and up till now Zero 7 have fit perfectly within this family. Other then its organic nature, where `The Garden' differs is that it feels like one piece (a complete album) as apposed to a bunch of songs. This is what was so magical about the 70's. Go back and look at how many artists were making their albums one cohesive piece of work in those days. It was as if the pressure of being judged on hit singles simply wasn't there. Could you have imagined where such groundbreaking artists as Pink Floyd, The Stooges, Yes, King Crimson, Steely Dan and nameless others would have ended up in today's pop wonderland market. Record companies simply wouldn't have taken the punt and we would have been the losers.

I must admit I miss some of the ethereal elements of the other two albums, but you can't go past the song writing and overall wholeness that is `The Garden'. I've listened to it about 20 times and each time I've wanted to hear it in its entirety. Each song is where it should be and the album ends with the listener wanting Zero 7's next instalment. Even the artwork matches the feel of the record.

Whether you're already a Zero 7 fan or just discovering them, give `The Garden' a go, it doesn't disappoint. It's not a simple listen at first, but I promise you it will keep offering up new surprises each time you listen, until one day without realising it you'll start looping sections in your brain, mabye even start humming aimlessly. In today's McDonald's (Fast and Forgettable) marketplace, `The Garden' is a breath of fresh Air (no pun intended) you will cherish long after the experience.

Well done boys. Now get to Australia for a tour and I'll be completely satisfied.

I love Zero 7. I love some of the music on this album, but it is definitly my least favorite, and it pains me to say that.
Throw out all the five star and one star reviews, and check out what people are saying. We're all here because we love this group's music, so what's different on this album?As other reviewers have pointed out, there are a lot of half-realized works. Overall, the vocals are fine, but I do find myself missing the variety of three contrasting lead vocalists: Sophie Barker or Tina Dico or Mozez. I also miss the gorgeous strings they used to drop with great effect. To give an example of flashes of brilliance, let's take the beginning of the album.
"Futures" kicks off the album, introduces Jose Gonzalez, and sounds great. Then about 2 1/2 minutes in, it just goofs around with some annoying sound editing (one effect sounds like your CD is skipping) and then brings in some obvious and klunky percussion. This give you the sense they are building up one of their epic climaxes, but it just dies there. 2 1/2 minutes, then mediocrity. Bummer.
The next tune, "Throw It All Away" sounds great and surprisingly bouncy, but then a couple of things happen. The energy really kind of drops on the chorus. It's unsatisfying, and you can hear Sia's soulful licks coming before they happen because, well, there's so little to do. And then a little annoying guitar line comes in; it sounds amateurish. Coming from Zero 7, I'm surprised.

Then comes an instrumental tune, "Seeing Things." Great production, but kind of soulless. My wife walked in while it was playing and said that it sounded like "video game music." Ouch--that's my Zero 7 your talking about! But she had a point.

"Pageant of the Bizarre" and "Fine Social Scene" sound nice, but depend on you really connecting with their repetitive builds, and thanks to some buzzy guitar work, it works for me on Social Scene, but the beginning of Bizarre is a better song. Again, pieces of brilliance.

So what did I think was perfect?
I'm glad another review mentioned "Left Behind." It's a gorgeous one minute song. But one minute?! I would have loved to hear them transform this jewel into one of their six-minute epics. Oh well.
"You're My Flame" take their new techie-chill-bouncy approach and nails it; Sia sounds great without digging into her soul bag.
"Today" takes a samba beat and throws the patented Zero & chill on top; Jose Gonzalez is perfect. Great track.

Overall, pieces of most everything on the album sound wonderful, but there are a lot of bland let-downs for this Zero 7 fan. But I still love 'em and I aint going anywhere.

Zero 7's first two albums embody the warmest melancholy I've ever heard, the musical crack when a frown is bent into a smile, the slight hum when the sighs of the heart are torqued from end to end into a bass and treble clef. Fans of the UK-based duo will know what I'm talking about: never has distant sun seemed so cool, never have lonely breezes brushed so warm.

"The Garden" is an interesting turn for the group. They've traded in Simple Things for a complex cornucopia of backyard flora. Their normally cascading melodies have each been caught When It Falls and planted into sunny soil, well-watered, loamy, rich, healthy. The result is certainly beautiful, even if it doesn't sway with the same sweet bitterness that made the first two records such deep, soulful successes.

You still have the duo's uncanny ability to mold a tune, and Shia's unmistakable pipes are still present, but now there's an almost Playskool type of playfulness to songs with lyrics and titles that are less than sunny. "Waiting To Die" sounds like an adult's nursery rhyme. "You're My Flame" is a brassy, brash digi-pop ditty. "Throw It All Away," with its muted trumpets and synthesized swoops, is about as groovy as Zero 7 gets, with a smirk thrown in to boot. And "The Pageant of the Bizarre"? It sounds exactly like the name implies; like a circus calliope that's been retro-fitted with a few extra pipes.

The group's usual simmer isn't gone. "Crosses," "If I Can't Have You," "This Fine Social Scene," and "Futures" are all reminiscent of the early years of Zero 7. But in keeping with this new, deep-rooted direction, the tunes all bristle with a new, restless energy. The trademark instrumentals suffer some under the buzz ("Your Place" gets a bit big-bandish), but the vocalized songs flourish under this brand new solarity.

At first I was a little disappointed with "The Garden". On first listening the album seems to lack that atmosphere that made the group's first two so great. The Garden is more popish, and definitely more experimental than either "Simple Things" or "When It Falls". Plus, Binns and Hardaker try out a number of different styles, from folk to gospel to jazz to imitation video-game music. But after a couple more times through the album grows on you. Underneath all the experimentation and new styles, the group is still doing what it does best - creating their trademark mood that's mellow, contemplative, and slightly sad.

The Garden is less coherent than either of the first two albums. In both Simple Things and When It Falls, you can listen to the entire album without ever being jarred from that mood they put you in. Unlike those first two, this album has a few tracks that seem just not to fit. The third track ("Seeing Things") sounds too much like a video game without much else going on, and the upbeat and uncomplicated "You're My Flame" clashes hard with the serious acoustic song that follows, "Left Behind". At other times the group sounds like it's trying too hard to show its range, like when it closes "The Pageant of the Bizarre" with acapella gospel music, or with the hokey folk lyrics in "Waiting to Die".

But through all the experimentation and changes of style and mood, Zero 7 still manages to put its stamp on the album. The Garden doesn't have as many gems as either Simple Things or When It Falls, but for the most part there is still that great harmonizing of dissonant chords that gives the group their unique sound. "Futures", "Throw It All Away", and "Today" are among the group's ten best songs to date, and only get better the more you hear them. If The Garden falls slightly short, it's only because expectations for the group are so high. Despite the flaws, this is still an excellent album.

After reading some of the other reviews I was amazed to see so many Zero 7 fans dissapointed by The Garden. What an amazing transformation this album was from the previous two recordings. Honestly, the first time I listened to the CD I didn't like it at all. I decided to listen again and it starting catching my attention quickly. By the 3rd or 4rd play I was definetely hooked and now I absolutely love it...it's one of my top 10 all time favorites. Maybe some of you should give it another chance.

The album definitely differs from previous albums but it still very much the Zero 7 sound that I know and love. It sounds to me like Zero 7 has taken their usual style and added soooo much more in terms of "fillings". Imagine looking at a childs coloring book...it's filled with enjoyable pictures, inviting environments, clean lines, and images that provoke some imagination. Although very enjoyable, when you stand back and look at the entire book there's still room for improvement. Now picture the same book as it's filled with brilliant colors...bringing forward and explosion of life and excitement to an already enjoyable experience.

This is how I feel about Zero 7. I've always liked them enough to buy the CD's but I never thought of them as one of my favorites until now. Their additional explosion of creativity in The Garden filled a void that I never knew was there. They've painted a picture in the form of music that I can't get out of my head and I am truely in love with the music.

I love the exploration of soul, jazz and pop, by the group Zero 7. They make great new soul and jazz/pop over lanugishing electronica beats. However, sometimes their sound can be too mellow.

When I want to step up my mood a bit I put on these two comps I discovered which have a great fusion of funky deep house and new funk and soul.

Paris Under a Groove and San Francisco Under a Groove are full of new artists who create a new brew of dance and electronica. These albums showcase what is beautiful and unique about funk and soul electronica fusion music. Just passing on the good word. Check it out and enjoy.

I have to admit that when I first listened to this album, I almost hated it. I was completely crushed. And determined. This is Zero 7! This is Sia Furler! I refused to believe that I could dislike this album and pledged not to give up on it so hastily. And so I listened to it. Again and again. And again. And now I listen to it all of the time because I have fallen (finally!) under it's spell. So, while I do completely agree with the previous one star reviewer in that this album does feel like quite a departure from "Simple Things" and "When It Falls" I also completely agree with other reviewers that it sneaks up on you and slips into your unconscious.

While I love them both, I don't really find myself missing the vocal contributions either Tina Dico or Mozez on this album. I do wonder, however, if their absence was a scheduling issue or simply a matter of downsizing by Henry Binns and Hardaker. I imagine that Tina Dico is focusing her energies on her solo effort "In the Red" as she should. No matter. Sia Furler does a wonderful job, as she does with everything she touches, and Jose Gonzalez really brings some soulful male vocals to the mix. And Henry Binns is in there as well, providing backing vocals on many of the tracks.

There are many wonderful tracks on this album, but my personal favorites include "Throw It All Away" (Sia Furler vocals and very similar in name to Sia Furler's amazing solo song "Blow It All Away"), "The Pageant of the Bizarre" (Sia Furler, about alternative families and lifestyle), "You're My Flame" (Sia again, very sexy song of devotion), "Today" (Jose Gonzalez, hip and lazy), "If I Can't Have You" (Sia Furler *sigh*, a dark, hazy, sexy, yet disturbing song about obsession), as well as "Crosses" and "Waiting to Die".

I could listen to Sia Furler sing from now until the day I die. Thankfully, I can now say the same for this album. If you don't fall immediately in love with it, give it a chance to work it's magic and I think that you'll find it endearing as well as enduring.

Unfortunately, it has some mediocre stuff too.

After 50+ spins, here's my short review of each track:

1. Futures - About 2:30 of PURE GOLD and then it fizzles out into techno-nothingness. Disappointing.
2. Throw It All Away - Excellent
3. Seeing Things - OK, I agree with the poster's wife who says it sounds like a video game.
4. The Pageant Of The Bizarre - OK, I don't really like the ending.
5. You're My Flame - Excellent
6. Left Behind - Very good but too short. Could have been the best track on the album if it was a little more developed.
7. Today - Excellent, would be GOLD if not for the stupid techno sounding part in the middle. My favorite track on the album but that one part just bothers me.
8. This Fine Social Scene - Good but a little too repetitive
9. Your Place - Boring.
10. If I Can't Have You - Forgettable
11. Crosses - GOLD
12. Waiting To Die - Good

Overall the album feels a little uneven. It lacks the pure zone-out power of the first two albums. I can have those in my CD player for weeks at a time. I find I get bored with this album fairly quickly and wind up skipping a lot of tracks.

While there are some bright moments in "The Garden", it's by and large a disappointment to hear the solid songwriting of Zero 7 take on a slightly odd turn in their new release. Doesn't mean I'll be throwing them away as a favourite artist, it just means this one didn't reach me. But with their format, Zero 7 has always allowed themselves to take on different roles with their music (particularly by using different vocalists and sometimes no vocalists at all). This is another season of this band and next release will be yet another. They may be spinning away from the "Simple Things" sound that brought them so many fans, but that's their right as artists. If it's really that Zero 7 is "taking the idea of a pop song a lot more seriously" as Marisa Brown of allmusic.com suggests, then I would've expected something more similar to the beautiful statement Tina Dico made with her 2005 release "In The Red". But pop art being what it is, this is what we have from Zero 7 this time around. Not every album has to be an award-winner.

Incidentally, having a "concept of music theory" should never be a pre-requisite to enjoying music. That's a little like suggesting that you have to know the life history of an artist in order to understand what their paintings mean. If you don't get art, then you don't get it. Maybe it has something to do with your own perceptions or maybe the artist has been unsuccessful in their attempt.