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Ping — The Zigzag Manoeuvre
(Apollon Records ARP036, 2020, CD / LP / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2022-01-31

The Zigzag Manoeuvre Cover art

Here’s a band that’s been around for quite awhile that I had never heard before. The Zigzag Manoeuvre is Ping’s fifth album since 2000, and it’s a fascinating trip into a strange corner of the rock world. Mentioning references like Cardiacs, XTC, Frank Zappa, Major Parkinson, Ween, and Tom Waits probably doesn’t help give any idea what they sound like. It was a very long gap between the band’s fourth album, Hurricane Spoof (2012) and this one, partly due to a devastating fire that destroyed their rehearsal room in 2014, taking out most of their equipment and instruments, but leaving some recordings behind and providing the seeds of The Zigzag Manoeuvre. One song here was actually recorded before the fire. Among these ten tracks, you’ll find funky grooves, post-punk energy, atmospheric lounge-jazz, warped blues, and a healthy dose of weirdness. Some things remain constant, however, such as catchy melodies, clever arrangements that take unexpected turns, and superb musicianship. Bassist Jørgen Greiner handles the lead vocals, and he’s prone to using a multitude of tones, accents, and inflections, presenting different characters to match the lyrics. All of the others provide backing vocals in addition to their instrumental duties: Mats Monstad (drums), Bjorn Arne Johansen (guitar), Mattis Janitz (guitar), and Tore Hofstad (keyboards). There are also numerous guests, some of whom were previous members of the band, including Claes Terjesen (drums), Thomas Haugbro (guitar, bass), Kristoffer Berre Alberts (saxophone), Jon Øivind Ness (strings), and Roald Madland (strings). Humor is certainly present, though it doesn’t venture into the scatalogical like Frank Zappa sometimes did. All in all, The Zigzag Manoeuvre is intelligent and engaging, applying an anything-goes attitude to pop rock songs.

Filed under: New releases, 2020 releases

Related artist(s): Ping

More info
http://ping123.bandcamp.com/album/the-zig-zag-manoeuvre

 

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