I’ve enjoyed Cut Copy since I first heard them shortly after the release of In Ghost Colours (2008). They’re just a light, fun, synth pop group, and they have a way of making their music catchy as hell. In the past there has been more to them than just dance beats and hooky vocals. They’ve used guitars to great effect, on tracks like “Feel the Love” and “So Haunted” (in very different ways).
The only thing that bugged me were the interludes that really interrupted the action (“DD-5”, “Voices in Quartz”). In addition, it felt like sometimes they snuck interludes into the actual songs (the end of “Autobahn Music Box”). These tended to have little to do with the actual songs, and made the albums feel a little bit longer than they were otherwise.
Zonoscope is not as blatantly danceable as their past work. It isn’t dominated by that bubbly, cheery, attitude that defined my favorite songs from their last two albums. It presents a wider array of moods, from sunny pop right out of the Beach Boys playbook (“Where I’m Going”) to the unabashed dance pop (“Hanging Onto Every Heartbeat”) to a more somber new-wave style (“Need You to Know”) to a light funky style (“Take Me Over”).
There’s a lot more that I like about this. Cut Copy are unafraid of exploration, whether within or outside of the confines of synth-pop music. “Pharaohs & Pyramids” sounds like there’s some influence from Autechre—with whom I would never have thought to associate Cut Copy. “This is All We Got” reminds me a lot of Panda Bear, just in the way the vocals are buried under tons of reverb-laden guitars and keys. Cut Copy have written a diverse album and everything they try works nicely for them. There’s nothing awkward, trite, boring, or cliché here.
But at the end of the day, it’s the hooks that make me want to listen to this, and this album delivers in spades. It is arguably less immediately gratifying than In Ghost Colours and Bright Like Neon Love (2004), but it feels more mature, more artistic, and ultimately more interesting without sacrificing their pop sensibilities. They’ve done a wonderful job on this.
If you were violently opposed to Cut Copy’s past work, Zonoscope isn’t going to do anything to change that. If you were on the cusp of fandom, however, the evolution they’ve taken might reel you in.
Walking is Still Honest 