Zulu Winter - Language

With such an overwhelming range of bands along with countless, almost non-existent genres to choose from, it’s really very difficult to know what to listen to. In ’08 and ‘09 the popularity of indie bands like Friendly Fires and Wild Beast began to soar to new highs; attracting a snotty attitude from the particularly mainstream-loathing class of music fans. What happened next was a counter-reaction; resulting in the invention of chill-wave, and some unfathomably awful bass-wobbling that the kids call dubstep. Everybody harping on about new-fangled nonsense like ‘sea-punk’ is enough to make anyone want to curl up like a bewildered hedgehog, or else just scream, “for Lord’s sake, give me indie music again!”

Enter Zulu Winter; a refreshingly straightforward bunch that invoke the same instantly enjoyable musical quality that Friendly Fires won us over with 4 years ago. Our introduction came in the way of the pounding goth-pop ditty ‘Never Leave’, and although it has an exotic hint of tribal chanting and intergalactic whirling – it is firmly rooted in the tradition of 21st century indie. With similarly infectious strains of tropically infused pop to be found in demo ‘Lets Move Back To Front’, Zulu Winter are off to a flying start already, and that’s before we’ve even got on to the rest of the album.

While ‘Languages’ may be rooted in tropically styled, catchy indie music - the sort peddled by the likes of Trophy Wife and Foals – it is certainly not a boring album. Far from it; in fact ‘Languages’ has an expertly blended mix of light and shade, plenty of attention being paid to song-writing, and a hint of samba-tinged frenzy to keep things interesting. It’s really easy to imagine the yelping beginnings of ‘Bitter Moon’ drifting over a field full of swaying arms holding cans aloft, while the ‘You Deserve Better’ showcases singer Will Daunt’s killer voice to full effect over shimmering synths and a sea of drums. Zulu Winter are not going to break any moulds, and ‘Languages’ is not going to spawn any new multi-adjectived genres – but that is exactly what makes it such a good album. This is eccentric indie pop with a slightly off-kilt flavour, and with such potential for mass-popularity, expect Zulu Winter to become the ones to catch this festival season.