On their debut album, Confessional Sports, Brisbane alt-rockers Electric Zebra impress with their expanded yet refined sound. Having previously worked with and learned from local legends Konstantin Kersting (The Belligerents) and Bryce Moorhead (Violent Soho), vocalist/guitarist Keelan Sanders took the reigns as producer this time around, creating nothing short of a “touchdown” record.
For anyone who’s attended an Electric Zebra show, the album opens with crowd favourite (but as of pre-2019 unrecorded track), Seen It All. Explosive and energetic, it’s an immaculate piece with a glorious guitar solo and fantastic vocal harmonies that are further peppered throughout the release. Next up is lead single It’s A Lot, a certified alt-rock banger that captures the band’s live energy in a clean, pristinely mixed studio recording. Lightening things up is the irresistibly catchy I’m A Natural, which regales first date dilemmas atop a sound bed of magnificent guitar tones, riffs and potent drumming. Confessional Sports then provides what could be the most surprising track of the bunch in Valley Of Leeches, a short, captivating slow-burner that through it’s layered guitars, experimental percussion and gospel-like backing vocals creates a truly enchanting sound. The anthemic sophomore single You Can Choose follows, displaying once more, Electric Zebra’s ability to pull off a large stadium sound.
Another pleasant surprise is the title track which melds mesmerizingly layered backing vocals with intricate finger-plucking guitars to create a seemingly folk-inspired intermission. Saturated Blue follows and lifts the mood, connecting Electric Zebra’s energetic ode-to-the-90s alt-rock sound from last year’s You’re Sinking EP to the current project, while Alienate and The Making Of feature the best bass-lines on the record. Six Months Time closes the album on a quieter note, featuring beautiful vocals, hand-claps, a suitably catchy chorus and an outro reminiscent of early Ball Park Music.
Electric Zebra have been on a roll since their inception in 2014, and on their latest record, Confessional Sports, they’ve certainly hit a winning streak.
Electric Zebra’s debut album Confessional Sports is out now.
CONFESSIONAL SPORTS – ELECTRIC ZEBRA
This review is courtesy of Phoenix Radio’s Emerge program, hosted by Calen Le Couteur and Russell Thompson. Follow Emerge and tune in on Monday nights 7-9PM HERE.
