Zero 7

Simple Things (Quango/Palm ’01) Rating: B+
Having read some glowing reviews of this album, I quickly grabbed it when I found it in a used cd store for a mere $6.00. The handwritten description on the album cover read “groove filled trip hop with not as dark melodies that's a little more on the pop side”, and I’d say that’s a fairly accurate (if not entirely a well-written) description of this debut album. Zero 7 are London DJ’s Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker, who add three striking vocal talents (Mozez, whose ghostly voice reminds me of Seal, and Sia Furler & Sophia Barker, both of whom can match up to the likes of Alicia Keys with ease) to their own smoothly layered musical soundscapes. The result is a mostly downcast but always soulful album that has often been compared to Air, another DJ duo who make great use of guest vocal talent. Granted, they both deliver futuristic mood music made for late nights when the party is over and it’s time to wind down, but comparisons with the likes of Massive Attack and Morcheeba are equally easy to make. Besides, Zero 7 deserve to stand on their own, anyway. After all, the duo’s smartly cinematic music is always interesting and impressive, though I’d be hard pressed to pick out individual highlights (actually, the album is about half vocal/half instrumental, and the vocal half is almost always superior, though the instrumentals serve their purpose - to get you to bob your head and “chill out” - as well). This is background music, after all, and though some of these slick songs could use a little grit (I’m sure that “overproduced” is an adjective that will be used to describe this album) and 72 minutes of this stuff does get a little monotonous after awhile, the duo’s smoothly layered, soulful pop symphonies makes for enjoyably sophisticated easy listening music.

send me an email

Back To Artist Index Home Page