ZHU - GENERATIONWHY

ZHU
GENERATIONWHY
2016
Spotify

If you have ever been to a ZHU live show you know they can be dark, ominous and somewhat odd. The music ends up being great, but there is an air of something being just off. That sentiment is no where near GENERATIONWHY. Instead we get a funky, jazzy exploration of what electronic music mixed with live instrumentation can really be like. We have heard takes like this before, but they always end up coming from the Nu-Disco side of things but with ZHU he is taking on EDM directly and adding a new take. The mood ends up being a cross between a smoky jazz club and laser filled rave. "In the Morning" which starts with a little jazz piano number breaks into a full dance beat around the minute mark and never lets go from there. There are certainly notes of Disclosure and influences from Tropical House but ZHU never really nails himself down of feels particulary ties to one genre or another. The reaction to big room EDM has to drill things down, get closer to the audience and make music that can have a personal feel rather than a communal dance-fest. GENERATIONWHY is certainly a dance record, but songs like "Secret Weapon" which is heavily influenced by guitar rock bring it to a different level. ZHU makes some songs soar while others He is perfectly content to keep very small.

The first thing you get is ZHU's vocal delivery is that He sounds a hell of a lot like Glass Animals. There are times where you could even swear it is them. On "Hometown" girl the vocal duties are shared with Matthew Koma who lends his funky effortless style to a track that does feel a bit forced. The big hit off of GENERATIONWHY  however is "Working For It" a track co-produced with Skrillex that already has 80 million views on Spotify. ZHU takes his music very serious and throughout the album that does lead to some moments that feel inorganic. The interludes which can be a wind chime or someone talking in bar don't add or take away from the album, they are just kind of there for almost no reason. "Good Life" features a spoken word verse that is so serious for a light breezy track it almost does not make sense. You want ZHU to just make the music He is good at rather than trying to shoe horn in a message that likely doesn't fit. "Generationwhy" is an example where he really does shake the pretension off and sort of let the track go where it will and it really works well for him. Despite it's flaws GENERATIONWHY is a solid album from a producer who really has a handle on making interesting and fresh music. In terms of a debut you would be hard pressed to find something as clean as GENERATIONWHY.

7.9 out of 10