Zoot Woman
Things Are What They Used To Be

Incurable lovers of electronic music. The genuine kind, rooted in the heart of the '80s and which today has various expressive possibilities that can fit into a modern sound.

These are the Zoot Woman. Born in 2001 from the union between brothers Adam and Johnny Blake and the genius of Stuart Price. Price's presence, an undisputed authority in the electronic world, gives depth to the group: Zoot Woman is seen as the natural evolution of Les Rythmes Digitales, a project that reached its peak with the beautiful album "Darkdancer", and of which Price was the soul. To this, we add two other elements: Adam Blake's talent, refined by various remixing experiences (under the name Paper Faces) and music production (one name among them "Confessions On A Dance Floor" by Madonna), always in close contact with Stuart Price; and Johnny Blake's voice, which gives a perfect pop tone that has nothing to envy from the greats of the past.

The result is a true rebirth of synth-pop, descending from the legacies of groups like New Order, Pet Shop Boys, Alphaville. Perhaps even Human League. A journey that reaches its peak in their latest album, Things Are What They Used To Be.

"Things are as they have always been." Almost a manifesto. Here, this is our sound, a consolidation of that music that has shown splendid results in the past. It's not over; electro-pop is still here, with the same energy.

In the album, in fact, we do not find experiments or sonic avant-garde, but simply the sound we expect from them, with powerful basses enriched by synthesized sounds, in search of the ideal combination. The essence of electronic music, in short. No invention, but a meticulous attention to detail, something in which Stuart Price is a master.

From the first track, "Just A Friend Of Mine", all this is evident. Powerful yet not heavy rhythms, very pleasant, for everyone. The album has little gems from this point of view, like "More Than Ever" and the first single, "We Won't Break". Other tracks are exponentially enhanced by Johnny Blake's vocal talent, who is in extraordinary form. His role is clear: to give warmth and emotion to electronic music, a very difficult task that has rarely achieved great results in this world. But this time we are there: we listen to songs like "More Than Ever", and a sparkling joy conquers us. Or we hear the initial notes of "Blue Sea", and we perceive every romantic and melancholic nuance; we feel a strange sense of metropolitan lightness. The same sensations occur in "Take You Higher".

Other pieces seem made to please everyone, like "Witness", "Lust Forever", or "Memory" (another extracted single). Classic pop pieces. Music for the masses, someone would say. True. They would take it as a big compliment. That's exactly what they do, with elegance and courage.

It is undoubtedly their best album. Less sophisticated than the previous ones, more open, more direct, and naturally explicit, without shame or hypocrisy. Zoot Woman confirms themselves as among the very few who have successfully managed to keep synthetic pop lively and present on the international scene. The credit must be shared in the modern era with LCD Soundsystem. Then not much else. Unfortunately.