I'm talking, of course, about the mid-to-late 90s. Napster was giving kids access to music they couldn't get at Wal-Mart (via ridiculously slow download). CDs, although steeply-priced, still sold. And independent labels released albums that didn't quite fit the “radio-friendly” mold.
Listening to “Bad Guys,” the first track on the Zoo Incident's eponymous first album, I couldn't help thinking of Matador Records. Its subdued pop sound, complete with a funky guitar riff on the sparse side, doesn't so much conjure memories of the label's heavy hitters (Pavement, Belle and Sebastian, Yo La Tengo, etc.) as it does a smaller act on one of their compilations. A band that hasn't hit the indie big time yet.
This is a band to keep an eye on. The rabid fanbase is still a few years off.
Andrea, the lead singer, adds heart to the tightly-structured instrumental sound. At the risk of dating myself with another 90s reference, she sounds a bit like Gwen Stefani on No Doubt's slower songs, the ones that make the listener say “Hey, chick's got pipes.” Luckily, Zoo Incident doesn't surround these vocal gems with ska that sounds like garbage water smells (see again No Doubt).
The Zoo Incident is based in Tucson, but their sphere of influence will grow as they continue to work together. Their “college rock meets the Age of Napster” sound is nostalgic for oldsters like me and fun for the kids who need a break from the kitchen-sink production of today's hits.
