On August 20th, German experimental noise post-punk band Zahn (German for tooth) is releasing their self-titled debut album on Crazysane Records. With members from noise rockers Heads and sound experimentalists Einstürzende Neubauten, you probably get that these purely instrumental collages of sound are definitely worth exploring.
Besides bassist Chris Breuer, drummer Nic Stockmann and guitarist Felix Gebhard, Austrian multi-instrumentalist Wolfgang Möstl, saxophonist Sofia Salvo, and Peter Voigtmann (drummer and keyboard player in The Ocean), are playing along on this album. The main focus is the groove, which can be heard straight out of the gate on Zerrung, Pavian, Aykroyd (check the video below, sober and under influence), and the radio-friendly Tseudo. Those basslines are going to get stuck in your head for days. Gyhum is my favorite song because the threat that this song oozes, is insane. Something like a wormhole is slowly opening up. Something invisible materializes and changes everything in a very subtle way. Faces become distorted, lighters levitate and some raindrops stop falling in mid-air. There is something going on but it is so more intelligent than our human brains can comprehend. And it is taking over our homes without us knowing it. The subtle electronics, the drones, and the saxophone all make me shiver when I hear this song, it is the most haunting song I have heard this year.
Zahn's debut album is a perfect mix of stoner rock, noise, and a tiny bit of post-punk. As mentioned earlier, the focus is on the groove which is understandable, but Gyhum shows us a whole different angle. It shows that this band is capable of thinking outside the box and be more creative by adding drones, effects, and electronics.
And that is the key: there is no box.
Tracklist:
Zerrung
Pavian
Tseudo
Gyhum
Schranck
Lochsonne Schwarz
Aykroyd
Staub