Album: Xero, 'Beyond the Glass'

It’s groovy. That’s the first thing to note. I want you to imagine punk, hard-rock or grunge energy, but with a medium tempo that gets you nodding along; a Goldilocks zone that’s not fast or slow, but just right. I’ll be absolutely honest; this is not my scene (I’m a fan of overdramatic European metal), and I say that to emphasise how quickly Limerick’s Xero overcame my misgivings. There’s a consistency and confidence here that’s matched in their live performances.

‘Beyond the Glass’ is a song that’s clearly designed to open; it’s got a quiet psychedelic feel that elevates through fuzz and into full-on stadium grunge. ‘Spires’ follows this with the same laid-back tempo and energetic vocals. These tracks are catchy; not a word I’d use often, and they tie together nicely. ‘Dragonesque’ throws in more thrash influences, with a rhythmic riff that makes stationary listening an impossibility. ‘Abaddon’ continues the escalation of the album’s heaviness, but the clean vocals keep it familiar; it’s a varied track that keeps me guessing every time, and I find it a highlight because of how well it brings its multiple threads together. The spacey synths and heavier vocals of ‘Awkward Comfort’, the catchy, droning chorus of ‘Everyday’, and the sudden drop into the slower, funkier ‘The Blind Has Led the Blind’ showcase a band that have a wholly consistent feel but are not afraid to vary the surface elements. I feel I’m contradicting myself by praising Xero for both consistency and variety; but that’s exactly what they do so well; every song is stylistically distinct, but recognisably Xero-esque. ‘Stars’, a quieter, piano-driven number illustrates this even further. I’m glad they elected to stick with the quieter feel rather than dropping it for heavy riffs; because the punk-punch of ‘Further’ accomplishes that, with quicker drums and hardcore shouting. ‘The Beast Within’ takes a modern Prog turn that’s both heavy and melodic, and it’s well-timed. ‘Season of Zero’ was probably my first introduction to the band, having stuck it on the radio show a couple weeks back, and it’s one of the more definitively ‘metal’ numbers on the album. The more melodic ‘Reality’ rounds off the album by reminding us of all we’ve heard so far; heavy in the background, melodic up front, staying catchy and generally firing on all cylinders. The order of the tracks matters here, and the overall rise and fall causes the tracks to boost each other; this isn’t a case of twelve tracks thrown together in any old fashion.    

Xero have produced a release that crosses boundaries; I could imagine an Arctic Monkeys fan and a Megadeth fan both finding this familiar; as well as fans of the many fine groove/fuzz/grunge outfits extant in Ireland. It’s a thoroughly ‘American’ record and managed to please me when my tastes are as Scandinavian as they come. It pushes out in a dozen directions without getting lost, and is clearly a child of many fathers, taking influence from all sorts of genres and fitting them together lovingly. Gimme more.

Favourite track: Abaddon
Polite Recommendation: More of the spacey piano/synths
For fans of: Hum, dredg, We Come in Pieces, Making Monsters
Listen here: https://open.spotify.com/album/5WOhvNW78PAr0KgwshxA6l

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