Zoey Van Goey - Propeller Versus Wings

Scottish "cuddlecore" folk/pop quartet Zoey Van Goey look to abandon the "twee" references often ascribed by critics with sophomore album Propeller Versus Wings, arriving February 15 (Chemikal Undergroud). We described their '09 head-turning debut album The Cage Was Unlocked All Along as "lyrically surreal and quietly mindblowing", a description that remains apt for the more sonically adventurous new Wings. Gone, too, are the prim and precious looks of bowlers and bow ties found in past imagery. The theme of aviation and travel permeate the album (and press pic above) and could well describe the flights of fancy and sense of stylistic exploration to be found within the album's eleven diverse songs. ZVG has always peddled a darker lyrical element beneath the bright surface sheen...now there's a sharper musical edge to boot.

Granted, Kim Moore's vocals are still as warm and lovely as ever on tracks such as on the tenderly swooning opener "Mountain on Fire" and softly shuffling "Extremities" where she extols the virtues of "letting go of fingers and toes" over a plucked acoustic jangle and a flurry of darting vocals. "The Cake and Eating It", though, has a more angular edge, the XTC-styled melody, sharply punctuated rhythms and jittery guitars adding a sinewy toughness to the song's core. Even the well-mannered piano pulse behind the wordy lyricism of "Escape Maps" gets left behind for the slicing guitar riffs and (dare we say) "indie rock" attitude of the high-enery, careening "Robot Tyrannosaur" and the wonderfully-titled "You Told the Drunks I Knew Karate." Propeller Versus Wings? We're wagering Zoey is going with the propeller this time.

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Zoey Van Goey - "Extremities" (from the album Propeller Versus Wings)

Zoey Van Goey - "The Cake and Eating It" (from the album Propeller Versus Wings)