Zero: Acts 3 & 4
Apollon, 2022
9/10
The Norwegian stars Laughing Stock return with the final installment of their Zero themed records, where we meet Zero, and find out what happens to him.
“Wingless” gets the listen off to a soothing start, where soft buzzing and calm drumming complement the dreamy singing that builds into a soaring prog-rock delivery, and “Lifeboat” follows with a musically bare and vocally harmonic display of poetic, art-influenced rock.
The rest of the tunes follow a similarly creative path, including the graceful piano and intimate landscape of “All Alone”, while “Words” is a quick dip into tense territory that recruits strings for the cinematic, nearly spiritual demeanor.
Close to the end, the more forceful guitar of “Mother” adds a bit of thickness to the spacey, prog-rock anthem, and “Words, Part 2” exits the listen with sparse, mysterious song craft to finish the exploratory record.
Inspired by The Who’s Tommy, Supertramp’s Crime Of The Century, and Pink Floyd’s The Wall, Laughing Stock bring a wealth of talent to this listen, and it’s an even more varied journey than the previous installment, where fascinating storytelling and meticulous guitars solos will keep the listener enthralled.
Travels well with: Laughing Stock- Zero, Acts 1 & 2; 35 Tapes- Home