Featured Album

Each week XPN's Mike Vasilikos, serves up another Featured Album of the Week. Tune in to the XPN Morning Show every Monday as Mike reviews another great CD.

Join WXPN and Receive the Current Featured Album of the Week
The current Featured Album of the Week is available as a thank you gift when you become a member of WXPN. Join WXPN now, or renew your membership. Just select Featured Album of the Week on the "Thank You Gifts" pull-down menu, make a $75 donation, and you will receive this week's featured album. A great way to add to your music collection and help support WXPN Public Radio!

 

Zero 7 - "The Garden" (Atlantic)

CD of the Month - August 2006

Buy Your Music Here, and Support WXPN.

Zero 7 are the English "sound-design" duo of Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker who debuted in 2001 with their now classic Simple Things album, a collection of warm, soulful and chilled out electronica. The Garden is their gorgeous third release and not too unlike their previous albums, which put them in a similar musical genre wih bands like Royksopp, Air, Portishead. This time around however, Zero 7 have added a more upbeat musical direction to their trademark ambience and finds them mining some excellent & fertile musical ground.

Amazon.com says it best: "The Garden is an intriguing listen, showcasing the sophistication that makes Zero 7 the Steely Dan of chillout--wry, intelligent lyrical observations, inventive musicianship, a detached sense of cool forged by the duo's heady blend of folk, jazz, '70s soul, and electronica. " The vocals this time around are handled by Sia (who has been guest singing with the band since their debut) and Swedish singer-songwriter Jose Gonzalez who sings on four songs including a wonderful reworking of his own song, "Crosses." The Garden is a wonderfully diverse collection of sounds and beats and songs. On it Zero 7 continue to push vocal based electronica towards adventurous places.

Written by Bruce Warren

Click here to see the complete list of WXPN Featured Albums.