Zeus
Say Us

“This band makes me forget all the shit of the world”. This comment by a YouTube user on one of their songs best summarizes the carefreeness that Zeus manage to instill in the soul. Are you wondering if they come from the Peloponnese? Let me give you a hint: Arts & Crafts. 

Yes indeed, these four rowdy and disheveled gods of Olympus are here to expand the prolific Canadian indie-rock scene. Three-quarters of the Toronto-based band have always been travel companions with Jason Collett, forming Dark Horse with him, recording and going on tour for the solo project of the guitarist from Broken Social Scene. “Say Us” offers us a lively setlist of sixties-influenced tracks that doesn't shy away from the more rock side of that decade, which would soon lead to the rock of Led Zeppelin, just to name one.

Despite presenting a formula revisited thousands of times by countless bands, Zeus achieve the miracle of not coming off as cloying, avoiding falling into easy clichés. The Beatles/Kinks influence doesn't immediately stand out; the album opens with “How Does it Feel?”, a track closer to Queen than to the pop masters. But behold, the clear sixties hues sparkle here and there: “Fever to Tell”, “Greater Times on The Wayside”, the playful “The Renegade”, suspended between a Ringo Starr song and the White Stripes. “River by The Garden” is a self-ironic vintage rock akin to that of Cake. There are also more intense moments like the feverish “You Gotta’ Teller”, with the Hammond organ taking center stage. The double knockout of “I Know” and “Marching Through Your Head” would melt even the coldest heart of the most brutal despot: the first a syrupy and cheerful synth-pop march, the second a rock'n'roll anthem of joy. At the end, the album also allows itself a bit of solemnity with the beautiful “Heavy On Me”. Impossible to disappoint anyone: there is something both for lovers of chaste pop and those who prefer classic rock with all its guitars, listen to believe.

I don't know about you, but I am terribly relieved to know that there are guys like Zeus out there. Thanks to them, they change the mood of our day, they make us smile inside, making us part of their lightness. So, for a few moments, we happily leave all the crap of this world behind.