Fenech-Soler's third LP but their debut as a duo,
Zilla was written and recorded by the group's founders, Ben and Ross Duffy. After drummer Andrew Lindsay and the project's namesake, bassist Daniel Soler (full name Daniel Fenech-Soler), left the band following heavy touring in support of 2013's
Rituals, the brothers struggled to come up with that certain something. They found their inspiration in a sojourn from L.A. to their hometown in Northamptonshire, England, where they came across the first keyboard they ever had as kids. That sound did the trick, and
the Duffys made the majority of the self-recorded album within weeks. It offers more of their reliably buoyant, pulsing electropop, if a touch cleaner and more direct than albums past. They get the party going early with effervescent tracks like the opener, "Kaleidoscope" ("Visions in the darkness/Our love is a kaleidoscope"). That description also includes the ever-so-slightly disorienting "Night Time TV," which lead vocalist Ben Duffy referred to as an "insomnia song." It plays with effects and beat alignment, but not enough to ruffle the four on the floor. The record's sequencing offers some respite from insistent beats with the two-minute instrumental "Zilla I" and then "Zilla II," which reintroduces voice and drums while remaining an interlude. There are also more wistful tunes, like "Cold Light" and "Be Someone," though once drums lock in, tempos are deceptively consistent. These songs do bring down the lights, however, and give the album some dramatic tension, so to speak. The album's closer, "From Afar," takes this a step further with a buildup to sparkling layers of synths, hi-hat, and strings. On the whole,
Zilla's a solid return, with a staff reduction that most fans are unlikely to notice. ~ Marcy Donelson