In the making of their latest EP, New York City avant-gardists ZS formed a new lineup surrounding founding member, composer, and saxophonist Sam Hillimer. The new band now features Patrick Higgins on guitar and Greg Fox (of Guardian Alien and GDFX) on drums, and with the lineup change comes a reimagining of previously unreleased songs with new touches from both new members. Side A of Grain was composed by Patrick and Sam, while Side B was taken on by Greg. The result is a kaledoscopic, experimental wave of pulses, beats, and emphases that draw out and pull like a kinetic science experiment. The landscape of sounds is wildy new and unfamiliar while feeling as comfortable as any ZS effort could be—the wiring is rich and electric, and an enthusiastic, full-bodied listen comes with the band's mind-melting cacophonic composition.
You can stream the first side of the ZS EP exclusively below, and order the full thing through Northern Spy here. Part two of Grain can be heard in this excerpt video, which was shot on a bullet-train from Tokyo to Osaka.
