Customer Reviews

Zitilites

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been a Kashmir fan for several years, ever since I saw a snippet of a live performance on TV in Denmark four years ago. Since then, I have often lamented that this fabulous music was not readily available for purchase in the US. Snag this one, and then get their previous album, "The Good Life." If Amazon doesn't have it, try www.skivhugget.com. They're located in Sweden, and they ship internationally.

As for Zitilites, I think this album is pretty solid. As the arrangements become more sophisticated, the band nevertheless makes sure that the experimentation never gets away from the song. In this, I feel that Kashmir has succeeded where Wilco fell a little short with "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot."

The reviewer who categorized Kashmir as soft-rock may be a little off. While the music often has mellow moments, there are also crunchy guitars and outright noise. Kashmir uses these tastefully and to good effect; in other words, the music is not loud for loudness' sake.

In short, get this album. You won't regret it.

This is a really solid rock album. My sister gave it to me for christmas, she has been studying in Copenhagen and told me that Kashmir is one of the more popular Danish rock groups. As soon as you put the disc on you can hear similarities with some of today's best european rock groups. I hear both Coldplay and Travis in the rythem section, also the lead singers voice reminds me of the lead singer from Travis. The fourth track is somewhat remeniscent of the beatles. Overall I would say that if you have enjoyed both Coldplay and Travis, that you will also like this album as well.

Ok, flash back with me to 2000. 'The Man Who' was a breakthrough album for Travis, and they're back in the studio with Nigel Godrich working on the follow up. (Forget the very forgettable 'Invisible Band' for just a second...) Imagine if you will- while in the studio, Travis is visited by no less than Wilco, Radiohead, Coldplay, and the soon to be Postal Service, all of whom contribute to the final product. This is the album they all could have made. Well, given that this highly improbable dream band collaboration scenario had come to fruition.

Flash forward to 2004. A little known scandanavian band by the name of Kashmir is making the music we've all been waiting for. 'Zitilites' is a glorious combination of musical influences, ranging from the pulsing techno of the Postal Service and Kid A era Radiohead, to the alt-country-neo-beatle-swirly-etherea of YHF Wilco. This album is at once breathtaking, exhilirating, and hauntingly beautiful.

There are a few moments of what can only be called borderline plagiarism (in the musical sense) that must be overlooked, but to someone like me who lives for hearing a band wear its influences on its sleeve, these moments are some of the coolest parts of the album. Shuttle ahead to 3:33 in the song "Rocket Brothers" and you'll hear the last half of "Let Down" off of 'OK Computer'. The only thing missing is the computer noise at the very end of the track. Also, the song "Surfing the Warm Industry" turns into 2+2=5 at about the midway mark. "Big Fresh" revisits the feel of 2+2=5, by way of the guitar solo in Wilco's "I'm the Man Who Loves You", and then makes an abrupt left turn and becomes the lost track off of Kid A. "In the Sand" would sit comfortably alongside any of the tracks on 'A Ghost is Born'- that is, if Jeff Tweedy was capable of singing in a decent falsetto. The song "Zitilites" doesn't sound like "Idiotheque", but it sure feels like it. At very least it could have been an outtake from 'Amnesiac'.

Now, having said all of this, if you can get past the sometimes glaring similarities between Kashmir songs and those of their very obvious influences, this album is a work of art to be treasured. There will be those who find 'Zitilites' derivitive, and with good reason. This is not an album of mind-blowing originality. Rather, Kashmir craft their music from the bits of melody and production ideas they find laying around their CD players. They are a discriminating lot, however. They will settle for no less than brilliance in the music they emulate. Their songs end up with a sort of symphonic quality, not unlike that of the Beta Band at their best. Songs begin as one thing, and often detour through two or three different themes before resolving themselves.

All in all, 'Zitilites' is an album I would reccomend to anyone who is a fan of any of the bands I've mentioned in the review above. I've had this disc in my CD player for a very long time now, and I've no plans of taking it out any time soon. Sheer beauty, in my opinion. It just doesn't get much better.

I would just like to add a note to all of the comparisons to Radiohead, and unfair accusations of plagiarism of Radiohead: This album came out three months before Radiohead's Hail To The Thief, and could therefore hardly have appropriated any of it's tracks. Despite the reviewer's high opinion of the album (which was five stars), if you're going to accuse one band of copying another on a website that is probably one of their biggest outlets to the world outside Denmark, please, get your facts straight.

This album is amazing from beginning to end. My picks would be Melpomene, The Aftermath, and Petite Machine. Buy the album, and if you ever get the chance, see these guys live. They've been doing this for a long time, and they do it damn well.

If you're into bands like Kent, Tiger Lou, Radiohead, etc., you'll dig this album. Stayed in my car cd player for two weeks. The more it played the more interesting I found it. The best part if you like this album, you will love No Balance Palace by Kashmir. It's even better.

It continues to amaze me that no one has had the sense to latch on to this group and release their work stateside! Kashmir is such an amazing group who've shown growth every step of the way. The way they're able to meld solid, melodic song structure and,insightful lyrics with sonic experimentation is astounding! They could be HUGE here! The newest cd, No Balance Palace boasts contributions from Lou Reed and David Bowie and is produced by Tony Visconti. That would seem to be a pretty strong endorsement! Haven't heard it yet, but I'm expecting great things if the past is any indication. Seek out their previous releases, The Good Life and Kruzendential as well. Kashmir is worth it!

Great sonics and musical intention, new pop a-la Coldplay, Blue Nile with interesting arrangements in strings and drum kit. Highly energetic in some tracks, cool new-stuff....

I first bought this cd because I saw the Rocket Brothers video on MTV. But when I started listening to it I realized that all the songs are equal or even better than that. This is one of my best CDs. I like a lot Radiohead and I know they sound like them, but who cares about that theyre a great band that make masterpieces. My favorite song is "Melphomene" it has one of the catchiest corus I have ever heard.

I,m Danish which means I've known Kashmir for some 10 years, and people in Denmark love them (for a good reason). Their live performances are awesome by the way.
Well, if you liked rocket brothers I can only say that it's far from the best tune on this album... This album is definitely worth buying, chances of regrets are very low! The music is soft rock with very much depth and a special mellowness to it. After having heard zitilites I reckon you'd go for more Kashmir albums. DON'T MISS IT

I got this album solely after the single Rocket Brothers came out on MTV. I had a good feeling about it for some reason, but had a tough time getting the thing. I mean, Kashmir is still a pretty much obscure group in most parts of the world; try Googling them and you'll get very little.
But the album is DAMN GOOD, trust me on this. If you like soft rock, this is the kind of music for you. Kasper Eistrup's voice is, thankfully, not the nasal kind and you get the feeling he's really, really honest about what he's singing.
Favourite tracks include Melpomene, In the Sand and Sad Poem of Old Friend. Get the album.