Zeus

Since 2009, Toronto's Zeus have been grafting away at creating their own brand of melodic, retro-flavoured indie rock. On their previous two albums (2010's 'Say Us' and 2011's 'Busting Visions'), Zeus wore their influences on their sleeves and demonstrated their knack for undeniable pop hooks and inventive three way vocal harmonies. As joyous as the Zeus sound was, there was always a sense that they could not just go on making the same album over and over, and on their third offering 'Classic Zeus', Zeus have moved on to ever so slightly different pastures.

'Classic Zeus' opens with the melancholy strains of 'Where Is My Love?'. There are familiar sounds here, such as the thick bass lines and intricately crafted vocal harmonies, but as an opening track, it seems a little more fragile and delicate; far from the cocksure numbers which have opened Zeus records in the past.

Next up is 'Miss My Friends' which offers an updated, perhaps slightly more modern take on the Zeus sound. It is a fun and bouncy track that sits somewhere between ELO and The Flaming Lips. It is straightforward, but as one of the most raucous tracks on the album, it seems Zeus are looking to take the foot off the pedal a little for the time being.

Continue reading: Zeus - Classic Zeus Album Review

Making a fairly late dash across the line with their effort at making one of the best albums of 2010 are Zeus, with their fantastic debut full length album Say Us. 2009 saw their EP Sounds Like Zeus gain the band some attention with their wonderfully noisy cover of That's All by Genesis, a version which stretched and contorted the original versions radio-friendly piano melody with heavily distorted bass and guitars. It was fresh, new and exciting. Say Us does for the most part shy away from these guitar freak outs in favour of more piano-led melodicism, but that doesn't make it any less exciting or vital.

Continue reading: Zeus, Say Us Album Review