ULTRA ZOOK

After forming in 2011, the French freak show known as ULTRA ZOOK didn't waste any time cranking out a string of three EPs that were incrementally released on a yearly basis but then after 2014's "EPUZZZ" sorta just disappeared. This crazy experimental rock trio of Benjamin Bardiaux (keyboards, flute, vocals), Remi Faraut (drums, flute, vocals) and Emmanuel Siachoua (bass, flute, vocals) finally returned in 2019 to release its long overdue debut album in the form of this eponymously titled collection of ten exuberant tracks.

Having started out as mondo bizarro, ULTRA ZOOK takes things even further so on their debut full-length. Sounding something like a mix of Caribbean calypso with pan drums along with three flutes and video game chiptune music, these guys take angular avant-prog brutality into a festive cartoonish fueled Carnival type of presentation and in the process satisfying that panhead craving for prog brutality in conjunct with uplifting jocularity reminding a bit of classic 1970s Samla Mamas Manna in its playful whimsy.

To call this rock might be a stretch since there are no guitars or heavy riffing of any type. There is a bass, lots of flute sounds and percussion but the primary sounds on board emerge from various keyboard tones and textures along with the spastic vocals that remind a lot of another eccentric French band named Poil. There are references to Gentle Giant vocal harmonies such as on "Ping Pong" however for the most part ULTRA ZOOK has found its own little nook in the prog universe that nobody knew existed.

This is a jittery beast as the atypical rhythms proceed like popcorn popping and although there are sounds of instruments like bagpipes that are uncredited, the gist is a rather Caribbean progressive festival vibe set to avant-prog complexity. Most of the tracks sound as if they could be cartoon soundtracks as the music is silly beyond belief and yet retains a bouncy childlike innocence as if these guys didn't know how to make "real" music! Despite the craziness and seeming disregard to convention, ULTRA ZOOK actually display a firm command of complex avant-prog rhythmic styles and freakish counterpoints that somehow coalesce into a greater sum of the parts.

This is for sure a bizarre amalgamation of musical styles thrown into a cauldron and alchemized into a totally new sonic stew. This is highly recommended for those who really love to experience something totally new and creative beyond belief as well as love the complexities of avant-prog fortified with jittery math rock all the while incorporating lots of flute, percussive sounds and video game chiptune sounds. As colorful and freaky as the album cover art suggests, ULTRA ZOOK is a true modern musical carnival guaranteed to make you react one way or the other. Personally i find this whimsical effervescent flow of sounds intoxicating!