(August 2009) Sometimes there are artists within genres that have a sound that is unmistakably theirs. They seem to be able to put that signature on all their productions that acts as an affirmative signal to any listener. Some say Joker has it, some say Burial has it, but both of those are debatable as dubstep is full of sycophant producers eager to cash in on a passing fad. There is one artist, though, who has kept a firm hold on his own sound for more than one year now: Zomby. He’s on another planet – whether serving up home-grown, hydroponic jams (The Lie / Dripping Like Water) or frying Nintendo consoles and recording the results (“Strange Fruit,” “Bur5t”) he’s always been one step ahead of the game.
One Foot Ahead Of The Other is the first we’ve heard from Zomby since his earth-shattering Zomby EP back in November. The latter was a showcase of the mysterious producer’s talents, ranging from the groggy anthem “Spaceman” to the Zelda-sampling “1 Up.” It’s always been clear that Zomby has a proclivity for using vintage sound chips in his music, and that habit had gotten more pronounced leading up to the Zomby EP. Here, on One Foot Ahead Of The Other, it seems Zomby has moved fully into the realm of video-game sounds, for better or for worse.
So? Is it any good? Well, it’s good, but maybe not as good as it could have been. First of all, there are a lot of 8-bit sounds in this. We’re talking every song here, from start to finish. I know you’re thinking, “Well, whatever, Zomby’s 8-bit samples are always dope.” But wait. This EP is 26 and a half minutes long. That’s a lot of time spent focusing on one sonic palette. “Yeah, but what about Strange Fruit? Zomby’s great at adding that extra bit of variety into those sounds!” And you’re right – but that was the 2008 Zomby. On One Foot Ahead Of The Other, there’s not nearly enough variation to keep anyone hooked for the full duration.
Let’s start with the title track. If (like me) you’re a huge nerd about this stuff and have been following Dusk & Blackdown’s radio sets, you’ve probably heard this one. Zomby has been slowly introducing garage elements into his songs, and “One Foot Ahead Of The Other” is just one of many garage tracks on the EP. At the beginning: A throbbing 8-bit bassline, skittering garage beat. A vocal sample comes in, repeating “One foot, ahead of the other” while tinny synths make appearances. Jump ahead to “Pumpkinhead’s Revenge,” which starts off with a wildly arpeggiated Game Boy melody and a garage beat, heavy on the treble and light on the bass. The song revolves around gradual changes in the timbre of the melody over the course of its 3 minutes. The next song, “Polka Dot,” has another decent garage beat, matched with something that sounds like the synth parts to “One Foot Ahead Of The Other” increased in tempo and pitch.
On to “Expert Tuition.” (Another) garage beat, more high pitched Nintendo sounds. Zomby does some cool stuff here with some unquantized synth work in the middle of the song, which adds some nice variety. “Mescaline Cola” is wonderfully chaotic, still sticking to the garage template, with Game Boy sound chips being cut up and jumping all over the place. And then there’s “Firefly Finale”… wait, this is the same beat as “Expert Tuition” and the same bassline as “Polka Dot!” What the hell is going on here? Why do all these songs sound so tinny? Where’s the bass? Why is he using the same synth sounds from track to track? But this isn’t to say that there aren’t some standout cuts. “Helter Skelter”? Absolutely killer. It creates a mood that is totally different from the rest of the EP and really sets itself apart. The main melody is downright creepy, and the propulsive beat and bassline counterpoint add to the ambiance. “Godzilla” is also excellent, exploring the same rhythmic tension between triplets and quadruplets that “Kaliko” did. An 8-bit arpeggio is slowed down from 24th notes to 16th to 12th to 8th notes while the shuffled beat keeps on churning in the background, providing an interesting juxtaposition.
Aside from those, though, One Foot Ahead Of The Other is somewhat homogeneous. It’s true that Zomby has moved into a new direction here, marrying Nintendo sound chips and garage, but that direction doesn’t seem to be very fruitful (which is massively disappointing, considering that the Zomby EP sprawled out in 3 or more exciting new directions at once). The EP sounds more like a holding pattern in uncharted territory. I didn’t use the terms “8-bit” and “garage” a lot in this review by accident – there’s a lot of that going on here. If you like things that way, then you’re going to be a huge fan of this EP. But for me, I liked it better when Zomby was experimenting with more sounds and different percussion structures – putting one foot ahead of the other and taking giant leaps into the unknown. For now, he’s just stepping in place, and it just isn’t enough to satisfy.
One Foot Ahead Of The Other is out now on Ramp.
