It's when Zun Zun Engui strip back a little that they're most effective.
Label: Bella Union Released: 26th September 2011 Reviewer:Simone Scott Warren
You'd be excused for thinking, any band from Bristol must be Trip Hop, right? After all, they single-handedly invented one of the most interesting genres in recent history. So, any band hailing from Bristol, why, they must be peddling the next 'Dummy'.
Cripes no, Bristol's latest export, Zun Zun Engui are about as far removed from that scene as humanly possible. They're experi-to-the-utterly-flipping-mental, and, as their debut long player, 'Katang' proves, clearly fans of a good bit of prog rock, some world music, and partial to a dollop of freestyle jazz, for good measure. You wouldn't be all that surprised if you found out that they all met whilst stroking respective beards at ATP during Shellac's set (they didn't, but it'd have been the perfect back story).
Taking somewhat mundane subject matters and lyrically redefining them in the most insane manner possible whilst wigging right out, appears to be top of Zun Zun Engui's musical CV. Indeed, 'Katang''s lead single, 'Fandango Fresh' exemplifies this talent; describing the act of carnal knowledge with a refrain of “sexy worm, have you got the bird?”, hollered over a backdrop of lunatic guitars and drums. Think a slightly more authentic sounding Fair Ohs, it's joyful, ridiculously contagious, and one would imagine the highlight of their live set. That's not to say that ZZE are in any way lyrical geniuses, 'Twist My Head', wherein ZZE tell us that they “used to be a furnished house, now the floors have left me, and my walls are freaking”, whilst delightfully bonkers, sounds like a sixth form poetry experiment in how to sound like the fictional Stillwater band from Almost Famous.
Whilst 'Katang' proves Zun Zun Engui to be exceedingly proficient at what they do, it's when they strip back a little that they're most effective. 'Sirocco', whilst it could be a soundtrack to a David Lynch film, all crunching guitars and ominous bass lines, feels like a welcome relief to the madness that precedes it. As an entity, Katang at times could really do with a little change in tempo, and a touch more atmosphere. Otherwise, absorbing it feels a little bit too much like hard work. And that will never do.Rating: 6/10
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