Falling Into Greatness
The best chill out/electronica album of 2004 is here: Zero 7’s When It Falls. Okay, okay – it may be a bit premature to make such a brazen statement seeing as how we are but midyear through ‘04, not to mention the stellar release by fellow downbeat genre-mates Air, but Zero 7 warrants such praise. With their follow-up to 2001’s critically acclaimed Simple Things, Zero 7 has solidified its place amongst electronic music’s heaviest hitters.When Zero 7 released their debut album a few years ago, the comparisons to Air were rampant and inevitable. And rightly so – with a sound extremely similar to the duo that brought us Moon Safari and Premiers Symptomes, Simple Things could have easily been a fluke riding on the coattails of the booming European ambient scene. But this was not the case, for the album was indeed a spectacular one and such a comparison proved to be an honor rather than a criticism.
When It Falls does not deviate much from the group’s earlier works. On this, their sophomore effort, Zero 7 sticks to what they do best: down-tempo driven beats sprinkled with the soothing sounds of soft flutes, dreamy Moog synths, and sophisticated string arrangements. There is, however, one noticeable difference in this release compared to their prior: the addition of vocals to most of the songs. While vocals were reserved for only a handful of tracks on Simple Things, nine out of the eleven songs on WIT contain full lyrical compositions. This may disappoint a few fans, but most will surely find the sultry vocals on songs like “Home” and “Somersault” both fitting and pleasing.
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