ZOPP

A UK-based act ZOPP were born as a brainchild of Ryan STEVENSON around 2010, and this eponymous album featuring their fruitful material fed up carefully and sincerely for about ten years has finally been released in the spring 2020. We can easily guess this album had got gradually developed like the sleeve where a delicate teapot is changing to a fierce scorpion. Their melodic basis is less affected than other Canterbury artists nor pioneers, but we fans can be immersed in their pretty refined sound and promising visions for the debut album.

From the beginning "Swedish Love" the impression is tempting. Ryan's keyboard works are quite delicate and calm but sometimes serious and sharp-edged here and there. On the contrary, the first touch of "Before The Light" is complicated and powerful. This friendly soundgarden reminds us of the same vein of one of Canterbury giants Hatfield And The North. The combination of deep, echoic keyboard plays and heavy tight guitar / bass / drums performances is crazy great. In "Eternal Return" we can enjoy oscillation between quietness and hardness. Every single phrase is not so complex nor dissonant but the collective is kinda grandeur.

"Sanger" features Ryan's crazy keyboard and guitar techniques that encourage us in a dreamy manner. Like a flower blooms, his performances are developing step by step. One of my favourites "Sellanrå" is keyboard-oriented ambient silence smoothly streaming like a small river with creatures like birds, fish, green plants ... our heart is purified. "V" has another enthusiasm. Actually complicated melody lines can naturally be accepted and digested. What a fantasy. Nothing eccentric can be heard, regardless of antipop improvement.

In "Being And Time", another favourite of mine, colourful, unexpected situations like a serious tragedy can be heard. Slow-tempo progression is critical but addictive. Glad to find also Neo-Prog-ish essence all over. "Zero" has dramatic atmosphere tinged with ethnic, tribal seasoning. Let us feel this atmosphere leans towards King Crimson in Discipline era. The epilogue "The Noble Shirker" appropriate for the last scene of this creation is very cool, featuring Mike's delicious saxophone plays. We can hear diversity and eclecticism in it definitely. Tight junctions of all instruments are incredible and strongly impressive.

In conclusion, ZOPP's debut opus has drilled the Canterbury Scene out, let me say.