Zs
Xe
[Northern Spy]
New York City trio Zs stew up music that is minimal in both its orchestration (guitar, sax, drums) and its insistent repetition of short cellular phrases, but it also draws from a heritage of noise and no-wave and eschews any sense of cloying academia, or the idea that they would refer to themselves as an ‘ensemble’. It’s cerebral, testing stuff, reminiscent of Dawn of Midi but instead of the clean-shirted influence of Philip Glass to the fore, this is hewn from the wild-eyed beardiness of Terry Riley.
Words: Ian Lamont
