There’s something happening on the west coast. Whether it’s in the air, the water, or the drugs, a pool of talent has formed around the notion that you can have your pop and eat it too, with brainy, prog-influenced weird-beards like Bend Sinister and arcane psycho-confectioners Mother Mother demonstrating that musical complexity can still be hummable. Commercial, even.
Throw the Zolas into the picture and dammit – you might even call it a scene! Not that it’s ever been a concern to long-term musical partners Zach Gray and Tom Dobrzanski, who established their gifts for intricate songcraft three years ago under the name Lotus Child.
Since then, the duo has finessed its formula into something even busier yet no less direct, filling their new album Tic Toc Tic with hairpin turns, schizoid tonal shifts, multiple parts, and a sort of cabaret strut.
Miraculously, between New Pornographers vet Howard Redekopp’s unfinicky production and the clarity of Gray and Dobrzanski’s vision, Tic Toc Tic works like a charm. Complex without being alienating, it aims equally and with dead-eyed precision for the head, heart, and groin.
Guitarist-vocalist Gray hits on the twin poles that define Tic Toc Tic when he reveals an equal passion for the visceral Scandinavian dream pop of Mew, whose influence is obvious, and the classic music hall rag of the Kinks, whose influence is anything but. Not on first listen, anyway, though the presence of Ray Davies is felt in Gray’s lyrics. Particularly when he turns his attention to the mundane, like the character in “You’re Too Cool” who wrestles with his vulnerability at Vancouver’s hipster HQ the Biltmore. Or the confessional “Body Ash”, which documents a relationship on the ropes. The directness of its sentiment echoes what Gray describes as Davies’ “populism”.
“The first words in ‘Body Ash’ are ‘my balls’,” he laughs. “Literally. I’m not hiding behind any metaphors.” Soundwise, Gray says he was aiming for “self-conscious Jeff Buckley”, which also goes some way towards describing a lot of the music on Tic Toc Tic.
Boxing the listener with their virtuosity right off the top, opener “You’re Too Cool” is six minutes of fortified waltz-time piano dissolving into what Gray characterizes as an “anti-chorus”. “The Great Collapse” is swaggering and deceptively sunny power-pop for apocalyptic future scenarios. “Marlaina Kamikaze” bounces between big band stickwork from drummer Ali Siadat, braying trumpet, and a decadent stride-piano breakdown.
Meanwhile, “You Better Watch Out” has Gray anguishing over a cute girl on a bus while cascading piano arpeggios and Aidan Knight’s hyperactive bass push his suffering to operatic levels of high drama. “Queen of Relax” is featherlite prog, and “Cab Driver” somehow contrives to be both the most straightforward number on Tic Toc Tic, and the most demanding. “It’s the most fun to play,” says Dobrzanski, who caps the song with a libidinous boogie-woogie throwdown sizzling enough to give “Honky Cat” era Elton a case of pianist envy. “It’s a rock-out,” he continues. “I like the athleticism involved in parts of it. It’s actually work.”
If “Cab Driver” finds the Zolas in an almost conventional mood, “I’ve Got Leeches” and album closer “Pyramid Scheme” both explore the fringes of the songwriting team’s expanding universe. Gray describes the first as “baroque” and “Bowie-esque”, while the latter, he admits perhaps a little freely, “is the track where we don’t care if anyone ever listens to it.” As such, it includes what Gray calls “a vaguely Maori, haunted house, war chant section.” Deadpans Dobrzanski, “That moment might come across as a bit out there.”
In truth, Tic Toc Tic is a little out there from bar one to its closing outburst of unbound inspiration. Perhaps it has something to do with the duo’s seasoned friendship – they met as choirboys in Grade 9 – or a working relationship that begins with Gray broadstroking ideas and passing them along to Dobrzanski, his classical musically inclined “details guy”.
Whatever alchemical thing lies beneath the sparkling progressive pop of Tic Toc Tic, the partnership has made its great leap forward. It’s our job to catch up. And we should consider it a pleasure.
Observatory
The Zolas Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
we're not allowed
and found a station
from a dead undergound.
And there you kissed me
as if goodbye
on the dusty platform
like my train had arrived
Oh we hold with the grip of a sifter
and we smile with the teeth of a comb
we can fake what we want to belong
but if we don't show our faces
we can't be wrong.
Hands in the air, listen to me
this is a stickup at the observatory
we're gonna look at just what we wanna see
this is a stickup at the observatory.
The blue beneath your skin is like
an atlas of the sky
I want to read your book but I
don't want to break the spine.
We left the concert on skid row
and looked up at the building face
office workers in the sky constellate
In our ordinary moons
we can't see the part we play
all the windows in the sky constellate.
oh we know we're living in a tumour
or we know we're living in a coral reef
who can say what's the way to believe
but sleep beside a window
and you hear it breathe.
The Zolas's song Observatory is about exploring places where one is not allowed, experiencing life on the edge, and the excitement that comes with taking risks. They enter a dead underground, which is likely a metaphor for the unknown or forbidden areas of life. Here, the singer is kissed goodbye, which speaks of an uncertain future, and the kiss is shared on a dusty platform, which highlights the impermanence of life. The theme of uncertainty is central, as the lyrics suggest that one can never be sure of what tomorrow will bring.
The chorus, with its catchy tune, describes the singers holding to life with the grip of a sifter and smiling with the teeth of a comb. They can fake what they want to belong, but if they don't show their faces, they can't be wrong. The metaphorical description suggests that the singers are trying hard to fit in, but they cannot draw attention to themselves for fear of rejection or judgement. The chorus also emphasizes the idea of taking risks, as it describes the main characters' illegal act of entering the observatory and "looking at what they want to see."
The song's bridge contains an image of intimacy between the singer and the person they are with, as they describe the skin beneath their partner's skin being like an atlas of the sky. However, the singer doesn't want to read the book too hard, so as not to break the spine, which could be a metaphor for being too invasive or risking the possibility of disappointment. The song's final stanzas highlight the complexities of life, with the window representing an observation and listening area, suggesting that one can never be sure of what they will hear or see.
Line by Line Meaning
We broke in where we're not allowed
We entered a restricted area without permission
and found a station from a dead underground.
We discovered an abandoned subway station
And there you kissed me as if goodbye
You kissed me as though it was the last time we would see each other
on the dusty platform like my train had arrived
On the dusty platform, it felt like my departure was imminent
Oh we hold with the grip of a sifter
We hold on tightly like a sieve trying to filter through the chaos
and we smile with the teeth of a comb
We put on a fake smile like it's a plastic comb, presenting a polished exterior
we can fake what we want to belong
We can pretend to be something we're not to fit in
but if we don't show our faces we can't be wrong.
We won't be criticized if we don't reveal our true identity
Hands in the air, listen to me
Listen up, everyone! Raise your hands
this is a stickup at the observatory
We're robbing the observatory, taking what we want to see
we're gonna look at just what we wanna see
We're only interested in viewing things that match our desires
The blue beneath your skin is like an atlas of the sky
The blue veins beneath your skin resemble a map of the stars
I want to read your book but I don't want to break the spine.
I'm curious about your inner thoughts, but I don't want to hurt you
We left the concert on skid row
We departed the show amongst the rundown part of town
and looked up at the building face
We gazed upon the tall tower's facade
office workers in the sky constellate
White-collar employees cluster together in the office building above
In our ordinary moons we can't see the part we play
In our mundane lives, we can't see our significance
all the windows in the sky constellate.
The windows of the building mirror the stars above, creating a celestial pattern
oh we know we're living in a tumour
We know we're living in a sickness or a disease
or we know we're living in a coral reef
We know we're living in a delicate ecosystem like a coral reef
who can say what's the way to believe
There's no clear answer for how to believe
but sleep beside a window and you hear it breathe.
If you sleep near a window, you can hear the world's sound and feel its pulse
Contributed by Cameron C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Tiffany
this song makes me feel so nostalgic. I haven't heard it before but... it just has that old vibe. i love it.
David Tipton
I couldn't agree with you more. It's just got that feel to it.
Jeremy Blair
+David Tipton Hey david
David Tipton
Hey big Jerm
Jeremy Blair
Lol
Nuclearsheep
I like the 2000s indie feel. Now that I've discovered this band, I am going to hunt down every last song of theirs on youtube, which will result in sleep deprivation.
AlanethTheRed
I discovered this band earlier today. It’s now 2am. Still listening to their music. Also they’re Canadian. Amazing.
Paola Aurelia
Guys your music is great !! I've seen a video two years ago and since this time you are one of my favorites bands. Thank you so much for every minute of nice music. Xx
mantasour
this band helps me find the motivation to keep twirling
Andrea F
LUV this...one of my top 1000 tunes of all time...