Michael Zucker – Absinthe
Michael Zucker is nothing short of a prolific musician with an incredible resume. Perhaps best known as founding member/guitarist of video-game-rockers This Place is Haunted, the Denver-based musician plays in multiple other bands (Musuji, ZEW, Living Easy) and has amassed a catalogue of over 40 solo releases (including a faithful reproduction of the Super Mario Bros. 3 soundtrack using guitars, drums, and bass). His latest offering, a six-song EP called Absinthe, is what you might expect to hear from a seasoned songwriter – expect complex compositions layered with sounds, noise, and everything in between. While a casual listener might find some of this challenging (in a good way), advanced listeners will feel like they’re listening to eternity encapsulated.
“Blood Wound” is a wild introduction to Zucker’s music. The song starts out with some ambient chaos – pulsing, bizarre percussion; 80s darkwave synth swells; and twinkles of clean guitar wash over you in waves. At first, you may think this is some sort of a noise record, but soon enough, Zucker’s voice shines through, evoking a Thom Yorke-esque howl/moan that feels pained and mysterious all at once. The song eventually explodes into a cacophony of rhythms and textures – sounding closer to shoegaze than anything else. A sublimely crunchy guitar rings out chord after chord while mind-melting drums pound polyrhythms into your chest. Even after these first few transmutations, the song evolves twice more – it’s a wild ride, but through it all, you can sense that Zucker’s power level is over 9000 and that this isn’t even his final form.
“Bite Down Hard” takes a more metal approach, with it’s double bass rumbling and buzzsaw guitar tone. Zucker’s musicianship is on full display here – while “Blood Wound” evokes the intangible work of Radiohead, “Bite” is better suited for fans of Slayer or Dream Theatre. This same, heavy energy can be found on track five, “Ambulate…” but don’t throw your devil horns up prematurely. Zucker devolves (or evolves, whichever is more complimentary) into a mathy display of clean guitar glory that has more in common with the Beatles than any metal band. By the time the song ends in a haze of strings and some sort of mystery, reversed instrument, you feel more like you’re standing in a dewy meadow than a sweaty mosh pit.
Around track three, “This Is Why We Don’t Have Nice Things,” you realize that Zucker cares not for genre, formalities, or pleasantries. Absinthe is Zucker’s opportunity to do whatever the hell he wants, and he absolutely lets it rip at every opportunity. “Things” is propelled by a zippy, arpeggiated synth and his trademark ripper drums. Despite the maelstrom of noise he creates here, the element that stuck out to me the most was simply the empty space. Instead of filling every empty corner with instruments, each layer of “Things” seemed to have its own space to breathe. In what may have been an otherwise suffocating composition, Zucker masterfully used each track as a unique adrenaline boost, spotlighting everything instead of burying them all deep in the din. The follow up song, “Kink” is another deluge of unsettling energy – proggy, weird, and honestly really cool.
By the time you get to the EP’s closing song, “Love Is Not Enough,” you might feel excited-but-exhausted by Zucker’s relentless pursuit of chaos… And respite is exactly what he provides. “Love” turned out to be my favorite song on the EP – yet again evoking Radiohead, lo-fi electric piano rings out softly, bolstered by twinkling guitars and Zucker’s surprisingly intimate vocals/lyrics:
The heart wants what it wants
Needs what it needs
Does what it does
You feel how you do
That’s why it’s true
Somewhere inside you
Love is not enough
Nor should it be
Even for me
No worries everyone – there’s still plenty of guitar-based bedlam to be found in this closer. If you haven’t deciphered by now, this is an EP you need to hear for yourself to truly appreciate. Absinthe is out now (October 1, 2024). Check it out via the Bandcamp embed below, or, add it to your Spotify or Apple Music playlists.
Categorised in: Album Reviews
This post was written by Nick Sessanna