Search - Zony Mash :: Farewell Shows - Seattle, WA

Best Zony Mash? Yes. Best Wayne Horvitz? No.

Bradley Scroggs | Jefferson City, Missouri USA | 01/10/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As a big fan of Wayne Horvitz' Downtown-avant-jazz-noise-groove-melodies with such bands as The President and Pigpen, I was thrilled with the formation of Zony Mash -- a true band, not just a revolving door of wandering supporting musicians who happen to be in town during the recording session. Sadly, while I tapped my toes and snapped my fingers to the first couple of Zony Mash releases, I waited in vain for their artistic creativity and adventurous spirit to really shine. It never did, and I stopped buying Zony Mash discs; gone were the experimental electronics brilliantly woven into the fabric of the beat or melody; gone were the fuzz-drenched stretches of chops-laden improvisations; gone was the inventiveness and risk-taking. Zony Mash had become a formulatic pop band (granted, an instrumental Hammond-B3-led pop band).



Until now. For their farewell shows Zony Mash called upon the spirit of their downtown heritage. Quite a bit noisier than their studio counterparts, this new Zony Mash stretches a bit here and there, always perched on the volume and distortion pedals, not afraid to venture occasionaly past the edges of melody, harmony, and beat. Don't worry, you'll still be tapping your toes and snapping your fingers, you'll just be happily cringing a little bit during the electronics/B3 workout of "Smiles," the extended neo-metal guitar jam during Pharoah Sanders' "Upper Egypt," or the distorto-bass solo that punctuates John Zorn's "Sex Fiend." The only drawback is that about half of this two-disc set are just fairly straight readings of the studio tracks; not bad, by any means, just not as amazingly brilliant as you know this band can be.



Fans of the old Wayne Horvitz' The President and Pigpen rejoice! Zony Mash is finally living up to its calling."