Thisisthelast Review: Zookeeper – Becoming All Things
September 9th, 2008 . by Jilly
Zookeeper is the latest project from former Mineral and The Gloria Record frontman Chris Simpson. Its no surprise to me that they’re from Austin, considering the plethora of great music coming out of there.
Where Mineral was a pioneer of Emo and The Gloria Record was a little darker and a little sadder; Zookeeper has gone off in a total different direction. Western indie rock mixed with soft folkiness. I love it. I loved Gloria Record and I love Zookeeper.
You might think that its pretty silly that I’m reviewing an album that’s been out for nearly a year, but good music is good music. I won’t hop on the bandwagon for any new band, just because its getting a lot of hype. This album is too good to pass up.
This is a happy album with lots of harmonica, piano, banjo, and violin. A few of the songs were recorded with a 20-person choir. The results are magical.
Ballad of My Friends.mp3
This is the song I would play if I’m having a bad day, and am trying to pull myself out of it. This upbeat song has piano, trumpet, and chorus of happy voices. What’s not to love?
Boy & The Street Choir (video)
This video starts with Simpson explaining where he got the idea for the song. This song is a little slower and a little softer with beautiful harmonies. This is easily the best song on the album. I really love the lyrics for this song…
“This river bends until it breaks,
This heart of darkness just one spark is all it takes ”
Snow in Berlin.mp3
This song has a nice relaxed feeling, like you might be sitting in a bar with your friends and you’re all loosened up and happy. The horns in this song are really nice, too.
I’ll leave this review with what Chris Simpson had to say about making this album…
We have recorded everything live in a room together in one take, with anywhere from 4 to 11 people playing, and even with a 20-person choir on a few tunes. The results are raw and at times seem barely held together. But there are truly magical moments that usually function as a pay off for whatever flaws our warts-and-all approach is yielding. I am overwhelmingly proud of the work, and feel they are all very strong compositions.
