Album Reviews :: Zebediah Plush: ZEBEDIAH PLUSH EP [INDEPENDENT]

One would have to say that Bangalore’s Zebediah Plush are something of a novelty item! In this age of grunge and nu-metal and other assorted genres of music, here’s a bunch of young people making music that has its roots quite firmly installed in the ‘70s. All through this, their debut demo disc, you will find ample evidence of this, in flanged guitar effects and keyboard sounds unheard since the glory days of the likes of Steppenwolf!

The disc opens with the aggressive but tastefully executed anti-establishment rant “Alma Mater”, complete with a refrain that goes “You can’t change the system”. This strongly R&B oriented number is followed by the haunting instrumental “Time Out Of Mind”, a strangely beautiful piece of semi-Carnatic fusion with a touch of Zeppelin-esque rhythms here and there.

A nice bluesy riff on the lines of Dire Straits’ “Heavy Fuel” ushers you into the third track “Elastic Man”, the most rocking song on this disc, on which the keyboards totally rule the roost. This brings us down to the two most adventurous tracks on the album, “Journey To Gondolin” and “Roots”, both featuring good vocal performances and very effective harmonies, especially on the jazzy refrain to “Roots”.

If you really need to find minus points, they would be largely due to the extremely cacophonous guitar solo on “Journey To Gondolin”, and the occasional discordant note from the vocalist (though there are enough bands who pass that off as their USP!). But the biggest flaw in this album has to be its length! Clocking in at just over 20 minutes, this one will doubtless find you fiddling with your CD player in the fervent hope of discovering a “hidden” sixth track! Don’t screw up your system — there isn’t one. We will just have to await a full-length album release.

Overall, on the strength of this demo, Zebediah Plush come across as a band with oodles of promise, who could achieve much with just a wee bit of refinement here and there. The vibe of the disc bears much similarity to the debut disc from their seniors from Bangalore, the inimitable Thermal And A Quarter. TAAQ, of course, have already made their mark on the Indian rock scene with their outstanding ‘Jupiter Cafe’. It remains to be seen whether Zebediah Plush will follow suit. Wouldn’t put it past them, though.