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Progressive Rock CD Reviews

Zilla With Her Eyes Shut Zilla With Her Eyes Shut Review by Gary Hill I previously reviewed the single "Whisper Whisper" in the last issue of Music Street Journal. I landed that one under progressive rock, not because it's progressive rock, but because it's more art-music based on electronica. I'm putting this whole disc under that same heading for the same reason. This is a solid, if unusual set, but it does get a little samey at times. That said, most people listen to a song or two these days rather than a whole disc, so that's probably not a big deterrent. I should mention that I'm using the track review from the previous article here for the sake of consistency. This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) in Music Street Journal: 2020 Volume 3. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2020.

Track by Track Review

Get Ready A cool synthetic tone opens this with a decidedly proggy element. The cut works out from there in a trippy kind of electronic zone. Eventually the high register vocals come over the top of the mix. There is a pop meets R&B element at play, but this is actually very proggy and art based. There is a symphonic edge to it. It gets into some weird spaceyness further down the road.

The Sleepwalker There is a tribal world music element here. That's blended with an electronic artsy edge. This is energized and has a cool vocal arrangement. There is some percussive strangeness later in the piece for a short interlude.

Get Your Way This is another that has a prominent rhythmic element to it. There is an artsy world vibe on this one, too. While this is effective, it's not one of the standouts of the disc.

Remember This feels a bit too much like the previous cuts. The rhythmic, percussive element is getting a bit samey. The cut has more of that world music meets tribal concept at play. The cut is electronic, but also very rhythmic.

Little Things The rhythm on this feels a bit twisted and different from the last few numbers. This is artsy and trippy. It's also a step back in the right direction. Electronic dance music is taken into the art-zone here. This is decidedly rhythmic.

In My Head Electronic textures drive this in some creative ways. I like the drop back to essentially an acappella bit mid-track. This is dance music, but also art music. Of course, in a lot of ways that describes nearly this whole set.

Cut Me Boy This is possibly the strangest track here. It really doesn't fit under that "dance music" heading. This is tripped out electronica with some gentle vocals in the mix. It has an almost space rock element in some ways.

Whatever It Is The rhythmic groove on this feels almost like a computer. There are processed vocals that feel like they are male, but they could be slowed down and processed female vocals, I suppose. This is very alien-like and tastefully strange. This is one of my favorite cuts here, in part because of the variety it brings.

Rainbows There is almost a playful computerized feeling to this as it opens. It shifts to more of a mainstream electronic music texture after a time.

Desire On the one hand, this is more organic than the rest of the music on this set. It's also weird and twisted. It's nearly mainstream, but there is a demented kind of angle in the mix. The tweaked male sounding vocal returns further down the road.

Whisper Whisper Some weird effects start this in a rather atmospheric way. There are odd whispers in the mix over the top. As the vocals come in, the track seems to walk a line between pop and weird music. There is a real artsy element here even as it shifts to more pop oriented zones. The number has a real twisted, psychotic feeling to it. Yet it also has some hints of reggae and other more mainstream elements at play.

Paris Trippy and energized stuff is on the menu here. This is so artsy and classy at the same time. It's definitely highlight of the set.

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