Genre : Hardcore, Powerviolence
Released : March 3rd, 2023
Label : Flatspot Records
FFO : Jesus Piece, Soul Glo, Scowl, End It
Lush swelling orchestral strings and piano arrangements open up the debut full-length album of Los Angeles hardcore five-piece Zulu in an unexpectedly gentle and grand-sounding way before playfully snapping the listener out of it, reminding them of who they are listening to.
Being new to the band, to me this could have meant anything and everything since I didn't know what I should be expecting.
Yes, I knew Zulu were a hardcore band but that was about the extent of it.
As it turns out though, "A New Tomorrow" is so much more than just a hardcore album.
As the album's intro, "Africa", leads into the first "proper" track, "For Sista Humphrey", one would be forgiven for thinking that my previous statement is utter bollocks since as energetic and aggressive as it sounds, the track does neatly fit into the blueprint of modern hardcore.
That is until the track throws the listener a curveball by switching to a sample of soul music as the track fades away before going back to business on the following track, "Our Day Is Now" as the vocals come in for the first time over a classic half-time punk rhythm.
This is the first of many stylistical curveballs that "A New Tomorrow" throws at the listener as it weaves a colourful patchwork of music genres that celebrates and pays homage to the rich history of African and Afro-American music as well as its social and cultural significance.
As "Our Day Is Now" ends on a reggae sample after a punishing breakdown, "Music To Driveby" continues this structure of having one half of a song being brutal, mosh-ready hardcore and the other half a sample from a very different musical genre rooted in Afro-American culture by finishing with a sample taken from the song "We People Who Are Darker Than Blue" by influential soul singer Curtis Mayfield.
"Where I'm From" is the first 100% hardcore/beatdown track of the album and really showcases the band's chops, most noticeably the dual vocals of frontman Anaiah Lei and drummer Christine Cadette whose sharp raspy yells cut like a switchblade and add even more palpable raw agression to the band's sound.
"Fakin' Tha Funk (You Get Did)" extends the sonic violence for another minute or so by going into more powerviolence and beatdown oriented territory, with a bone-snapping breakdown before "Shine Eternally" brings about the album's midway breathing point with instrumental, bluesy and slightly psychedelic indie-rock.
Highlighting "A New Tomorrow" 's social, cultural and political message, the album' s interlude asks the question : « Must I only share my pain? ».
A reflection that is further explored a few tracks later with the spoken-word protest poetry of "Crème de Cassis" by Aleisia Miller & Precious Tucker, which makes a point of showcasing how weary members of black communities are of hearing a narrative that time and time again focuses on their suffering instead of celebrating the qualities and heritage of their community.
At its heart, "A New Tomorrow" is all about this idea of celebration while still being mindful and aware of the past but going against the tendency to reduce an entire ethnic group solely to the sum of their oppression and suffering throughout history.
Of course there is anger within this discourse as Zulu's unapologetic hardcore along with the majority of their lyrical content demonstrates, but the band approaches these topics with a positive message and a hopeful outlook on the future as the album title itself implies.
This duality between violent emotions and positivity is very well illustrated by the track "Lyfe Az A Shorty Shun B So Ruff" : « This won't be forever » scream and growl both vocalists in unison amidst frenzied riffs and menacing breakdowns before the track morphs with a sample of Nina Simone's "To Be Young, Gifted and Black", which encourages the empowering of younger generations and for them to be proud of their identity.
The fact that most songs on the album rarely go beyond the two minute mark contributes to making the vast amount of musical genre-switching feel seemless and organic as they flow into each other ; further demonstrating this duality between the releasing of anger and the will to turn it into a positive outlook on the future on a sonic level.
"We're More Than This" offers a mix of scat and socially conscious hip-hop delivered by guitarist Dez Yusuf over jazzy instrumentation before going back to their core mix of hardcore and powerviolence for the last quarter of the record with the crowd-kill inducing "52 Fatal Strikes".
"Divine Intervention" is especially noteworthy with its genuinely pissed-off rant given by Yssis Davis (who is also behind the album's intro line) that drastically ramps up the intensity of the music itself with some of the hardest lyrical lines I've heard in a while.
The album reaches its conclusion with its longest cut, "Who Jah Bless, No One Curse", as one final burst of hardcore carrying a message of resilience and hope for the youth transitions into an instrumental post-hardcore/rock outro, even including a guitar solo before a sample of Bob Marley's "Small Axe" solidifies the album's theme and message while bringing it to a close.
With "A New Tomorrow", Zulu have crafted an album that is unapologetic in its sense of identity and its socio-political message and takes great pride in doing so, which is a major part of their strength as a band.
It also brings both a refreshing and welcome, eclectic approach to the possibilities of hardcore music but also to the narrative surrounding black discourse.
As far as I'm concerned, this is the most exciting hardcore, beatdown and powerviolence have sounded in a long time while also bearing a meaningful and relevant message that deserves to be heard by all.
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