Throwback MP3 of the Week: Zoom, “Cycle of Fifths”
Much as it pains me to say it, Zoom is a band of whom I’d always heard, but never actually heard until long after their passage from the local scene. Considering I was 14 when Helium Octipede was released, it’s unsurprising I wasn’t really aware of Zoom until I moved to Lawrence in 1997.
Of course, at that point, Jeremy Sidener was still in town, and playing guitar for Panel Donor, so there was still a connection. Now, I don’t believe either of the members other than Sidener (he’s in the Danny Pound Band) are still playing music locally, which is a goddamn shame.
This is one of those records that qualifies as a “hidden gem.” The Wipers comparison is perhaps inevitable, especially considering Greg Sage produced Helium Octipede. The Minutemen are also a band to whom you can compare Zoom, right down to the point that they both had a song that was downtempo and almost jazzy, over which a note was read verbatim — “Take 5, D” and “Letter to Allen,” respectively.
Zoom does have that herky-jerky post punk sound, with weird time changes and the like, but I’ve always thought that they were the sort of band that you use as the starting point. The Beatles sound like the Beatles, period. You’d never try and describe them using other artists. Zoom is much the same way.
Considering all the local reunion shows we’ve seen the past few years (the Embarassment, Micronotz, Sex Offenders, Ultimate Fakebook, Danger Bob), I don’t think a Zoom reunion would be too much to hope for. How can we make this happen?
