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March 27, 2012

Neon Zoo – “O” – To Be Released on Mar-30: Viva Music Album Review

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Tracklist: “I’m Your God” * “Purity” * “Skin” * “The Voyeur” * “Haunt” * “Divine” * “Seethe” * “Closing In” * “The Offering” * “Beautiful Darkness” * “PushBonus: “Dionysian Dream” * “Sublime” * “The Love” * “The Voyeur” (Full Version) * “Uranus in Latex/Venus in Furs” * “Twisted” (Kerrang Radio Edit)

Download previous album “Heaven Sin” for free from Bandcamp.

About Neon Zoo:

Already on the forerunner, “Heaven Sin“, the depths of human soul were fathomed, O goes even a step further. Darker, with more sex-appeal and a lot of twists and turns. The album pulsates between catching dacefloor-fillers, like “Purity” or “Haunt“, and menacing, seducing and enigmatically fascinating moments of dark indulgence, which is carried by the vocals in songs such as “The Offering“, “The Voyeur” and “Seethe“.

“O” is an album of a different kind, in which 2 years work in the role of audio producer gets demonstrated. “O” can be many things – a circle, a ring, a hole… or simply a sign of the continuous change. As well as the live band, that gets assisted by guest musicians, Richard (Bass) and Mike (member of the band Manuskript) appear on the album, too. The concentrated creativity, the profound lyrics and the professional production make “O” a real masterpiece.

O” will be released on March 30th 2012 with 11 songs + 6 bonus tracks on all well-known stores and as a free download with 11 tracks on afmusic.

Neon Zoo -“O”: Viva Music Album Review:

Out this Friday on Mar-30 with afmusic, Neon Zoo’s second album “O” is a wonderful piece of darkwave with a lot of appeal and with a generous set of enticing images. If you are a newcomer to the world of Neon Zoo, it will not be long before you are taken in by their charisma. With sufficient balance between poetic probing of the dark depths of the human soul and relevant dancefloor elements, “O” is both the donut and the hole, it gives you content but also room for musing, and it stands out, in many ways, among this year’s releases with its unique and unaffected sound.

I’m Your God” is the basic instruction you get on entering the premises of Neon Zoo. A well-staged track with a killer music and lyric combo, “I’m Your God” is penetrating and powerful, and its dark hues permeate the ensuing “Purity”. More dance driven than its predecessor, “Purity” is enflaming and cadenced, a great definition track and what’s more, one that will definitely leave its imprint. The same is true of “Skin”, which adds on top of the previous creative pool a very sexy and alarming atmosphere at the same time. Tight as skin and perspiring sensuousness, “Skin” marks a turn in the album, but also a very plausible premise: if the album is going to be as diverse as the three first tracks try and demonstrate, will it elude a definition? To some extent, as goes on to prove “The Voyeur”, it will – however, there are luminescent arrows in the album that are most certainly darting from the same spiritual font. And if you enjoyed “The Voyeur”, you will be happy to hear that an extended version is provided in the bonus area of the purchasable album.

Haunt” recaptures the feeling intimated in “Purity” with a lot more dance friendly atmosphere, but it does not corrode the album’s seriousness with futile artifice. It evolves naturally and combines elements that are relevant in their entirety and make perfect musical sense together. And then it’s up to the electrifying “Divine” and the trippier “Seethe” to take the floor, but with the same zest and impact as the previous album tracks. “Seethe” is a great example of the blend one can reach in today’s music to encompass genres that are extraneous and inherent to a scene and make them novel and fresh. “Closing In” boosts the danceability of previous tracks and makes a topnotch impression, while “The Offering” conspires with the listener in creating a thorough, permanent bond and speaks in very natural tones. “Beautiful Darkness” is just as title suggests beautiful, and dark, however, its refinement, both accommodating and devastating, makes it alongside “I’m Your God” a definite Viva Music favorite. “Push” has the difficult task of closing the album, but it performs, as was expected, well. It somewhat opens up a different perspective, and it is not unlikely that it represent a new direction altogether, a sort of promise for a future release.

Mention should be made of the bonus tracks, too, the ones that broaden the picture of “O” and at the same time reaffirm the band’s pledge to make great music. Except for the extended version of “The Voyeur”, which, as mentioned before, finds its proper place in the bonus area, there are several other goodies: the effervescent “Dionysian Dream” and the mock lullaby “Uranus in Latex/Venus in Furs” catch, of course the attention, and it’s not solely because of their crafty titles; but there also are in the deal tracks that definitely make the album choice more varied: “Sublime”, “The Love” and “Twisted” – all packed with their own personality, but also with an already recognizable Neon Zoo cachet.

O” is a profound, and at the same time amenable listen. It is a great album not only because of the diversity and versatility of the listening material it includes, but also because of the neat set of emotions it provokes and grafts into the listener. Enjoy!

Neon Zoo – Official Website | on Facebook | Discography on Discogs

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