Zoo Harmonics – Business In The Front… Party In The Back

Hailing from Tel Aviv, Isreal, four-piece pop-punk outfit Zoo Harmonics offer up a nasally, hook-heavy take on the now timeless brand.  Their latest album and U.K. debut, Business In The Front… Party In The Back, fits easily alongside the likes of bands falling somewhere in the mix of Useless ID, Fireworks and Handguns.  Not quite squeaky enough to be confused with today’s Midwestern scene, and a little too contemporary to join the Fat Wreck Chords club, Zoo Harmonics offer up an easy listen sure to find an audience somewhere within those parameters. 

Most songs fall into one of a few categories, the most prominent of the bunch being the recurring tendency for mid tempo stop n’ go riffage.  Tracks like “Awake At Night” feature a pairing of relaxed vocals and relatively consistent guitars.  Dror Goldstein sings the chorus rather than belting or speaking with a nasal tint, and the result comes across surprisingly approachable.  The band takes this maturity a little far with “All Amazing Songs,” which comes paired with a heavy grumbling bass, making for somewhat of an unnecessarily ominous feel when – especially when pseudo-acoustic tracks of a similar nature like “He Wishes He Knew” sound so darn appealing. 

Other songs resemble a tighter adherence to the sunny day pop-punk mold, particularly with lightened tempos and catchy hooks.  Outside of a lurching startup, “Henry & Claire” settles into a safe melodic run that throws in a few jarring notes for good measure.  Those like “Ipek” revolve around very sing-song choruses circa Mixtapes, while “Club Sin(atra)” throw in a some funky bass and drops the vocal style a few octaves.  Aside from a few of these minor gimmicks, these probably make up the least remarkable of the bunch, if only because they sit wedged between more prominent offerings.

Zoo Harmonics’ strongest takes usually feature a flash of nostalgia or quick paced melodic volley.  Opener “Stemweder Open Air” throws an early curveball when the peppy verse transforms into a burst of banjo chords resembling something of an Old Man Markley tune.  Being short lived means the raging banjo plucking serves as a bit of a tease, but a welcome one none the less.  Other songs like “On My Own” throw caution to the wind and race in headlong with rhythmic, No Use For A Name–esque drumming, sweeping backing “woo-oahs” and fierce mid-song solos.  Zoo Harmonics remains at their best when that little extra “umph” pushes them just beyond their obvious comfort level. 

Overall, Business In The Front… Party In The Back offers a pretty safe listen for anyone invested in one of today’s many pop-punk scenes.  With a handful of memorable highlights and some decent but catchy filler, Zoo Harmonics stands to draw a fairly diverse crowd.  Drawing from such a diverse set of influences does suggest that somewhere down the line that the band will likely have to hone their focus.  But as an introductory effort, Business In The Front… Party In The Back cements a workable foundation.