Zookraught - Pressure

Dance-rock icons from Seattle, Zookraught, have debuted their 2nd LP titled Pressure through Moon Ruins. Over the last six months, the band has teased several tracks, each one piquing my interest a little more than the last. Every song has an infectious dance element, combined with poignant lyrics and incredibly talented musicianship. One thing I immediately noticed on my first listen was an improvement in production compared to Vida Violet. Check out my thoughts down below, track-by-track!

Down BeloW

Drums barrel into the mix like an 18-wheeler rolling down the freeway. As you’re taking in the drums, guitars inundate you with noisy effects thanks to some impressive pedal work. Around 1:15, the main guitar riff is ushered in, which feels like a tamer, groovier Converge riff (if I had to put a feel on it). Meanwhile, their drummer belts over the track while delivering a rhythmic, booming beat. All while this is happening, the bass is delivering a raucous bassline that is scaling up and down the neck. The biggest switch-up occurs at the 2:15 mark when the band fluidly segues into a breakdown of sorts. Shortly thereafter, we’re brought back into that familiar verse, chorus, and transition into a breakdown section to draw the song to an end. Great start to the record, although it is not my favorite track of the nine this band delivers.

Roy St

This introduction riff may be one of my favorites on the album. It creates a rhythm the whole band goes along with, in a cathartic way, and ushers in a tasty dance beat less than a minute later. During this section, one of the catchiest lyrical lines is introduced, that being “I see you now, I see you later! I throw it all under the table! Wait until you can't, then push it all out. Don't go wasting, don't go chasing.” Directly after, we’re provided a dance beat that’s a bit more tumultuous, noisy, and busy. The song feels like a great blend of fun dance elements and poignant lyrics that try to say something. Coming in at only 2:43, it is one of the shorter tracks, but I think it does a great job of preparing the listener for more of what is ahead.

Facelift

Instantly, we’re given a taste of the musicality of this group with how they effortlessly bust into a wicked guitar/drum interplay that’s crazy to experience. I would say these lyrics are some of the most sly but I do think some other songs achieve some of my favorite lyrical moments on the album. However, that initial line “Smile, smile! All my life I’ve been told to smile, smile!” is such a quick-witted and smart way to comment on the common trope of telling women to “smile”, at least that’s how I interpreted it. Right around 1:39 they switch the beat up entirely with a tom-forward beat that reminds me of some classic punk. Shortly after, the drums come in with snare to create a bit more urgency, and finally we’re given a stellar tom-forward rhythm to bring it home. The most jarring section of the song that I did not quite expect was at 2:18 when their bassist releases a powerful screaming section while the instrumentation almost sounds like some mid-2000’s post-hardcore riffage.

Fly fly

Sometimes simplicity just gets the job done, and that’s why I think Fly Fly is one of my favorite tracks on this thang. From that first guitar lick, I'm immediately bobbing my head along and feeling like the main character of my own story. During the verse, the guitar drops out, leaving plenty of room for that gritty bass and drums to encapsulate the listener. This song primarily features their guitarist on vocals, but we are given a powerful delivery from all three members during the “I guess that’s all we get” section of the song. One thing I found super clever and had me pondering over the meaning of the song was on their lyric sheet, they say “See - See (REDACTED)”, yet in the song, they appear to say the name, John. I feel that it is alluding to the redacted names in the Epstein files, but that’s just a blind guess. While the song is mainly just a dance beat throughout its entirety, I am enamored with how much attitude is invoked on this track.

Raught!

This is the first track where I feel a bit more certain about the message that is being delivered, even without reading the lyrics. As far as political songs that still pack a big punch instrumentally, this is my favorite on the album. The primary vocalist is their bassist on this track, but I do love that their guitarist interjects for the last lines of the verses. I do find it really neat that they don’t repeat any sections on this track at all, though I do find the “Made to watch in technicolor, technicolor, technicolor!” to be the most meaningful yet sly dig at our society as a whole. Raught! feels like one big ball of energy that only grows angrier and turns into a brutal beatdown by the end. Great angst all over this track that makes me want to get up and do something. Zookraught achieves such a fun, cathartic, and impactful statement with this song that is still stuck in my head.

Laughingstock

Back-to-back tracks that bring the listener in with a catchy beat yet deliver a powerful message. My favorite lyric on this track is the de facto chorus: “I want your laws out of my insides,” which is staggered by the same lyrics delivered by the backup vocals. As the song continues, the band delivers a tasteful blend of dance and noisy punk that makes you angry, yet simultaneously joyful. The bridge creates an underlying tension that then crescendos into a full-on breakdown, with the vocalist screaming, “I hope you lose it all.” Cathartic and freeing, this end section is all sorts of pandemonium. It feels like the perfect crescendo to end the song and bring home the powerful message the band is putting out with this song.

For Nothing

Admittedly, the latter half of the album was not in my rotation, but with time, these songs have proven to stick in my head nearly as much as the first few tracks of this album. With time, though, this opening line, “Give me nothing, give it to me right away,” is one I’ll just sing out loud sometimes like an intrusive thought. Around the 0:30 mark, the entire beat transitions into a wonky off-beat feel that makes you want to sway to the beat. It is impressive that small changes can really make the song feel different, even though there are not many change-ups until 1:41, when the band goes feral. Drums come off the most impressive during this section as they deliver a complicated yet impeccably precise groove that keeps the tune together. Genuinely love that the band keeps the track a short 2:15 and packs all of the punches into a quick banger of a tune.

FOCUS FOCUS

While many of the songs feature lots of noisy elements that bring that punk edge, this song feels as if I’m out at the beach. The song follows a pattern that sounds fairly predictable until the guitar and bass drop out around the 1:15 mark. Vocally, I love the quick-witted and animated delivery that feels similar to what’s already been delivered but a tad different. The band goes between an A and B section for the first minute. Shortly thereafter, we’re given a section where the drums keep a steady rhythm while the bass and guitar sprinkle in some flavoring. This ends with a simple yet effective drum fill that is the catalyst for the bridge section. I wasn’t very fond of it on my first few listens, but the more I’ve sat with it, the more I’ve come to enjoy it. It is by no means bad; it actually brings a nice change of pace that has not been heard from the band. Good song, but definitely lower on my list of notable moments on this record.

Turn Out

Sometimes, starting with a stock disco drum beat is just the right move, and that’s exactly how this song starts. Guitar ushers in a fast rhythm while the bass holds down the low-end root. Throughout the first verse, the band takes that initial groove and compounds on it with just a tad more energy as it progresses. Turn Out’s chorus feels more dynamic in a way that the other songs don’t. This is most apparent with the vocal delivery of “So take me over and out of my mind! Ooooooooooo!”, which is a little foreign to the rest of the record. From the first listen, the line “I kinda like it when you push me, push me I can feel it, I can feel it, that you got me, got me.” has been stuck in my head. While the song has its own vibe that is a bit different compared to the first half of the record, it creates a very large presence that feels like a sing-along moment live.

Maria

Coming in at 3:38, this narrowly comes in as the longest song on the record. It is genuinely impressive how tight the band is while delivering some of the most chaotically groovy riffs I’ve heard in quite some time. Some of my favorite moments are on the verses when the guitar is just wailing on that dissonant chord, and the bass and drums are holding down that syncopated rhythm. Right around 2:05, we get some respite with a vocal/guitar section, quickly segueing into a d-beat drum style that creates urgency. It’s clear why they decided to end with this song, as they deliver a powerful end-of-the-song that makes you want to thrash your head along while the vocalist delivers the lyrics “I can’t feel you, head is crashing out!” while every instrument hangs on that rhythm to usher out the song.

Zookraught - PRESSURE (ALBUM REVIEW)