Cut Copy, an Australian synth-pop dance band, just released its highly-anticipated third full-length album, Zonoscope. On the last album, 2008’s In Ghost Colours, Cut Copy released four successful singles, including “Hearts on Fire” and “Lights and Music.” The band is well known for its disco synth-pop style that combines modern dance music with ‘70s and ‘80s influences.
Zonoscope, while continuing Cut Copy’s original sound, is slightly different than the previous albums. The band introduced Zonoscopeby releasing a free MP3 online, a Tim Goldsworthy remix of their track “Take Me Over.” Zonoscope showcases the vocalist’s stylistic range — he can sound similar to both Robert Smith and New Order (“Need You Now”) and The Beach Boys (“Where I’m Going”) without sounding like a cheap imitation. The tracks on Zonoscope, even the 15-minute long final song on the album, never sound contrived.
“Pharaohs and Pyramids” is a melodic disco love song with simple but memorable lyrics: “Please baby please baby / Don’t take my heart away / Just save it for another day.”
The closing song, “Sun God,” is lengthy but isn’t overwhelming because of the almost constant beats and spontaneous lyrics in the track. The song poses the philosophical question, “You’ve got to live / You’ve got to die / So what’s the purpose / Of you and I?” The band makes similar social commentary on songs like “Blink and You’ll Miss a Revolution” and “Hanging on to Every Heartbeat.”
Cut Copy has managed to grow musically while maintaining their original modern disco style, making Zonoscope sound both fresh and new but comfortably familiar.
