Recorded at home and produced by the band themselves, the album opens with the quintessential straight-ahead-killer-pop of The Forces of Light (Preloading) which dives out of the speakers and demands instant attention, and maybe a little pat too, because it’s just so damn charming. From there, the guitar hooks of Leon Dufficy, the dreamy sub-audible vocals and guitar strum of Jeremy Cole, the bass and ethereal backing vocals of Edwina Ewins, and the where-to-now drumming of Max Budan just stretch out and continue to serve it up – eight more scrumptious portions of the jangly pie. Eat slowly now, and remember to breathe…
Happily doing their own thing up there in Brisbane all these years (well, since ’01), The Zebras have done the family name proud, occasionally helping out wayward out-of-towners like Lambchop, as well as Brisbane heroes the Go- Betweens. And now they’re free to roam, all the way down the east coast, and who knows where else, because there’s just no saying. Like I said, just a moment ago, you weren’t even aware of their presence. Or maybe you were, with their hit 7” single Car of Idiots streaming out of Triple J from every which direction! If that song caught your ear, well prepare yourself, for the bar has just been lifted. The Zebras album will confuse and confound again and again – “I just can’t believe I didn’t know!” – and by that time, believe me, you’ll have a hard time retrieving the CD from the player.
