May 2, 2001

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ZERO ZERO AM GOLD REVIEW
Anticipation is such a hard thing to maintain. Expectations get raised to the point of impossible and impractical standards. The price of waiting becomes devastating -- almost deadly. Disappointment is almost inevitable. Get ready for the great let-down.
Those who hold another person's music dearly will eventually experience this. They wait, and wait, and wait like salivating fools -- for the next taste of musical brilliance, ruining their social lives and becoming unbearable at work. The anxiety is too much for the greater world. I am one of those people.
The story of Zero-Zero goes back too long for me. The moment I heard about this 3/5 of Lifetime project which sounded like a mix between Elvis Costello, Sterolab and the Clash, I just about had a fit. Lifetime was only my favorite band and Ari Katz is only about my favorite singer and lyricist. I went so far as to drive to his record store in Red Bank New Jersey to buy records in the hopes to catch him. If that wasn't enough I tattooed words from one of his songs on my leg. I built up the idea of Zero-Zero into a proportion of music that just can't exist. Yet, while no means perfect, the debut effort of Zero-Zero is beautiful, brilliant, ironic and just plain amazing. But do not expect crushing guitars and powerful screams for Zero-Zero takes more from the art of experimentation, musical collage and dance track rhythms to create a surprise in structure and sound.
As the story goes after many months at practicing like a normal band the core of Zero-Zero, Dave Idea and Miss TK came to the conclusion that they wanted to make an album that was much more experimental. So they locked themselves in a home studio created a bunch of rhythms, brought Mr. Katz in for some vocal stylings and poetic waxings and came up with Am Gold. An eleven track tease of what I pray is to come.
You will recognize a lot of the structure here from Lifetime. In fact there are a few tracks on here sans organ, and add the pounding of drums may have been new Lifetime songs. The album opens with "True Zero" a carnival of swing and hip. Then the sexy and moving title track transcends earthly limitations. Katz's vocals are heartfelt and touching, the music is punk in style but not presentation. The use of digital sounds, keyboards and bass make this track a powerful shout out to the days of radio past. "Pep Sounds" is a Pizzicato Five inspired trip of hyper dance and vocal sounds provided by Miss TK, paired with Ari's awesome delivery that implores you to "come to the window" and "turn on the radio." If only the world were so lucky as to hear this from the once great device of communication. This song is sexy as all hell and will get you moving. The album proves to be very experimental as many ideas are not fully developed but simply presented but if this trio can manage to keep this pace and keep interested I believe they will be known as one of the most important groups in digitally based music.
Music is amazing and it can still be relevant and important in change. The fact that Dave Idea put down the crunchy guitars and Ari let up on the power and brought in the melody that he only hit on with Lifetime proves that punks will continue to be the innovators of new and exciting music for many years to come.

PUBLICATION
Super Punk

AUTHOR
Erik Gamlem Mus

DIRECT LINK TO ARTICLE
http://www.superpunk.com/articles/98884372639242.asp