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You know when there are those times where you just can’t
seem to find just the right CD to listen to? Well that sometimes
means you might be open to listening to something new and
just a little different. After all if you knew what you really
wanted to listen to you’d have found it, right. That’s usually
the time I reach for something just a little more experimental.
I kind of use that time to stretch my listening appreciation
skills. That brings me to a band called Zaar. ***
In 2004 Zaar formed in France out of the ashes of a band
called Sotos. This is a four piece consisting of Yan Hazera
(guitar), Cosia (hurdy gurdy), Pairbon (bass) and Michael
Hazera (drums). The music they create in squarely in the avant-progressive
mould. The band lists influences such as King Crimson, Univers
Zero and even Magma. So you can well imagine the music Zaar
create is complex and challenging to grasp. Having performed
on stage with the likes of Present and Moving Gelatin Plates
you know the music of Zaar will contain elements of neo-classical
and chamber rock. All of which is to say this first self-titled
CD of 53-minutes is one heady brew to absorb. ***
These nine tracks will twist and turn on a dime, floating
spaciously one moment only to turn aggressive the next. Some
of these pieces are just a minute or so long, but two of them
are upwards of twenty-minutes where you’ll see all kinds of
musical action. In the band’s reviews you read words like
“aggressive” or “violent” and to some degree that goes a long
way in describing the feel created by Zaar. The music is dark
and brooding, creating a sense of something dangerous hiding
just around the corner. It’s even a bit spooky. Like other
music in this genre, there is a lot of texture in the compositions,
where instruments will each seem to be going off in different
directions only to coalesce into a rhythm of unknown origin.
All of this musical experimentation is held together by a
keen sense of progressive rock, which is perhaps the King
Crimson influence coming to the fore. ***
Needless to say if you’re a fan of any of the bands mentioned,
Zaar will be right up your alley. As I said before this is
music designed especially for when you just don’t know what
you want to listen to next. Listen to Zaar, it will be an
ear-opening experience. ***
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