| If Gregg Gillis (a.k.a. Girl Talk) were to write his own music, it would sound a little something like Zoon Van Snook and its latest scatterbrained electro-ambient smorgasbord. The obscure (Falling From) The Nutty Tree will entrance audiophiles but send the public running for Advil. When tuning into the largely instrumental-based album, it’s easy to get past the electronic tings that layer the album, but the piano solos and speech samplings create a mystifying fog, making comprehension nearly impossible. A unique blend of ambience and techno-vibes disillusion the listener from reality. The electronics waver with skills almost comparable to electronic masterminds like Dan Deacon or Justice. The ambient synthesizing is akin to a codeine-drunk Radiohead or an unrefined Sigur Rós. The musical spectrum Zoon Van Snook blankets on this album is not as narrow as one would hope, but wide enough to continue listening, to see where it goes next. There is a hint of continual rhythm in “Ee’m Yorn,” but outside of this one, the reader is hard pressed to find a beat that lasts for over a minute. Outside of this song, the album goes from one extreme to the next, usually within a song, making a complete listen intolerable. The tangibility of (Falling From) The Nutty Tree is barely present, but its degree of obscurity creates an ounce of interest to triumph through this turbulent album. But what would you expect from an artist named Zoon Van Snook? - Daily Tar Heel |
