Every Rock Band Needs a Saxophone Now…
Zookraught- Like A Rotten Zucchini. Debut EP Review by Celeste Felsheim
zookraught
Having known Zookraught band members for many years, and seen them play live several times, nothing could have prepared me for the delicious journey their all-too-short debut EP would take me on. A fairly new band to the Seattle scene, Zookraught has stood out in the performance and technical ability categories, and provided a wonderfully engaging live show that feels like one from a band of ten years or more. I held my breath when I pressed play on the first master that Baylee Harper (drums and vocals) and Alex Dillard (one of their recording engineers/producers) sent to me. My main fear was one grounded in the experiences of many rock bands, where a group has a great live show but a devastatingly flat sounding recording of an otherwise killer band- but oh the sigh of relief I let out when Zookraught’s recordings were the opposite!!
Stephanie Jones, who creates and plays a killer bass part, also has the most enchanting voice. Having seen them before in what was mainly a supporting part, I am absolutely delighted with the recordings of her stunning head voice and raspy mix-voice screams that have long since deserved the spotlight. Baylee Harper is a drummer that I’ve had the privilege to watch and play with for a long time, and her style and training shines in Zookraught. You can really hear her diverse listening and inspirations, passion for funk grooves, and her absolutely MEAN right foot on the kick drum that outlines her beats that are always in the pocket. Sam Frederick joined Zookraught a little after its conception, and was just the right piece to help the band fall into place. Their command of the guitar is one that all players should be envious of, with their ability to create texture and let the saxophone shine on some “lead guitar-ish” parts, as well as their passionate more soloistic parts that stand out and perfectly mirror the anger and groove from Stephanie and Baylee. Lastly, Sam Morrison (yes, TWO Sams!) shines as this band's sort-of-second-guitar; it’s kind of difficult to nail his essential place in the band down. He jumps between melodic lines during instrumental parts creating countermelodies, and also clears our listening palette with wicked texture during intros/outros and vocal-heavy sections.
Stephanie and Baylee as writing partners for Zookraught is truly powerful, their need for complicated grooves and riffs shines through just as equally as their punk rock anger behind lyrics like: “You have got blood on your hands - always scheming for the highest demands - plastic cars, plastic world and pearls - beaches made of microplastics or sand” from track two, Plastic World, and many others having to do with the climate crisis and difficult relationships. They contrast these equally with semi-goofy lyrics about saving the bees like this one from track four Honey Fuckit: “The bees live in the flowers - They have magic powers- stop eating their puke - you disgusting rotten fruit!”
Jones and Harper have written together in another band, but their weirdness and goofiness in Zookraught combined with their passion for more serious and often heartbreaking topics and their expert handling of both is what makes this group so special.
The first tune Break You, is quintessential Zookraught and the best choice for an EP opening song and lead single. It's simultaneously some of their best songwriting work on the grooves and riffs front, and a very vulnerable song with lyrics about assault. The saxophone texture and static sound at the beginning drag us into the world of Zookraught, and the opening groove quiets at the verse to allow room for some of the most personal lyrics on the project. Jones lets us into her world, whispering “Did you think I'd forget? Forget everything you did?” directly into our brains, leading into something that she does best: clear and crunchy screams. Those might sound like opposites, and trust me I also thought that until I heard Jones sing. In the chorus of Break You, she sings “I will end you I will break you - I will hurt you if I see you” and her words come out extremely clearly with the bite of a heavy metal singer, resulting in one of the coolest vocal tones in local rock music right now.
Track 2 is Plastic World, a song about the climate crisis. This tune opens with doubled saxophone tracks hitting a slightly spooky riff followed closely by arpeggiated chords from Sam on guitar. Lyrics like “Mother nature, she's screamin' she's bleedin' - she's been beggin' us for some relief'' are sung by Jones and Harper in one of the rare times we get to hear some harmonies from them. These devastating lyrics in their floating head voices are spell-like and magical in essence, like Baylee and Stephanie spoke directly to mother nature herself. This magical verse is followed by the energy-building pre-chorus where we hear Stephanie sing “Well surely it isn't me - I'm not selfish I'm clean” and she effortlessly blends her soft head voice with an angry scream that the lyrics demand, and leads us into the chorus. This is an example of expert songwriting from Baylee and Stephanie, who have created a sort of “opening-up” feeling in this section. The busier snare drum notes have faded away into a cymbal-heavy beat that allows room for a riff similar to the intro from the sax and guitar. A badass song that calls out our human selfishness, Plastic World is somehow catchy, danceable, sad, and uncomfortable, in a very human way.
Up next is Faith. We are now halfway through this EP and have covered climate issues and assault in a way where neither of which have been watered down in any way. We are screaming along with Stephanie and dancing along with the rhythm section, and Faith is no exception to this poignant combination. Opening up with chugging guitar and building saxophone, the atmosphere of Faith is built and is a perfect foundation for lyrics from Jones about an annoying past relationship. This song feels shorter than the others on Like A Rotten Zucchini and while it's not, in actual time stamps, a super short song, the structure differs from Break You and Plastic World in that it features less lyrical repetition. Stephanie tells us a story in this one, and it feels like she's giving this person only the song time that they deserve! Lyrics like “Those vicious 2 day long fights - Yet I only cried twice” and the final words of the song “And I'm doin fine - No I don't want to try - Make your peace say goodbye - Make your peace say goodbye” show us exactly where Stephanie stands on this person. We hear hits from the band on and before important lyrics in the beginning of this tune, and I especially love the combination of overdriven and crunchy guitar with Baylee playing more quiet drums, so that when she opens up and plays the full kit, she creates another great example of tension and release. The ending vocal samples of talking lead us into our penultimate song, Honey Fuckit.
Honey Fuckit is a wonderful second-to-last song, with its goofy lyrics, deeper vocal screams from Stephanie, and shredding guitar parts that all combine to give us, oddly, a moment to breathe. Possibly the most heavy metal song on the record is a breath of fresh air as we get a moment to mosh, dance, and sing about saving the bees. This one just rocks, and you have to hear it for yourself.
The very last song opens with a sliding and catchy bass part, and I’m so glad because I’ve been wanting some more glimpses into the world of the bass parts in this EP. You will spend a lot of time being bewitched by Stephanie’s voice, and finally, Unfucking Done will give you a moment to be enchanted by bass like you will when you see her play live. In this last song we are back to a song structure that we recognize from Break You and Plastic World, one with quick 16th note riffs on sax and guitar from the Sams, with groove based drums and moments for the vocals to sweetly ride the wave of sound created by the band. Two verses and two choruses are followed by what feels like a funky shout chorus a la Stevie Wonder but more punk rock. This bridge section features the bass and some unison lines and hits from the band that honestly would tire the listener had they been put earlier in the lineup, so I’m glad it’s here at the end so I can really sink my teeth in. Unfucking Done is the perfect closer because it feels like a blend of what we've heard thus far, with the more repetitive and comfortable lyric structures from the first two songs, and a more experimental section with some soloistic aspects like Faith. This song is almost like a Zookraught previously on segment, where they run back the greatest hits of the first four songs. This is not to say that Unfucking Done doesn’t stand on its own, in fact it's got some of the best vocals from the whole project, featuring a screaming version of the earlier sung lyrics at the end, and some of the most fascinating and headbang-able riffs of the whole damn thing. Phew! What a ride!
Overall, it’s an honor to listen and watch Zookraught come into their own. This balancing act of tight but danceable guitar/saxophone riffs from The Sams, juicy rhythm section grooves from Baylee and Stephanie, and honest, punching lyrics about real world crises are what Zookraught is all about. They are worth the trip down to the venue tenfold, and this release will cement them in the currents of the Seattle music scene.