#blue zero

[tarbrush101]

ViA

[bandcampsnoop]

9/6/24.

Chris Natividad has been a significant part of the Oakland music scene for years - Marbled Eye, Aluminum, Public Interest and now Blue Zero.

Marbled Eye and Public Interest to remind me of Total Control, Diat, Ausmuteants, Wire and the new Osees. Aluminum have more of a shoegaze sound while (based on this one song) Blue Zero seem like a combination of all those sounds - maybe add in a little Erik Blood.

Blue Zero "Colder Shade Blue" is being released by Lower Grand. I also received an email letting me know that Marbled Eye's first two releases are being combined into one stellar LP. You can listen and order from Digital Regress.

[sonicziggy]

"Rotten Angel" by Blue Zero https://ift.tt/whXDd3n

[sonicziggy]

"Confusion" by Blue Zero https://ift.tt/BpPqgJ1

[dustedmagazine]

Blue Zero — Colder Shade of Blue (Lower Grand Tapes)

Blue Zero drifts through a slippery chill, riding big, elongated guitar tones across slowed-down hooky melodies. Slowdive is maybe the best shoegaze reference, for the way this band balances the sweet, accessible tune with glacially reserved atmospherics, though you’ll hear echoes of Cocteau Twins and My Bloody Valentine, too. You might also pick up on some Sonic Youth-like breakaway double guitar interplay in spots and even some surf jangling Jayhawks in “Foot in the Grave” but the main flavor is a late-1980s effects-sculpted buzz and croon.

The band is one of many Bay Area projects to feature Christopher Natividad on guitar, though more in line with his fuzzed pop Aluminum than Marbled Eye or Public Interest. Lauren Melton, she of droning, sheets-of-sound SUCKER, plays the bass, while Rick Altieri of the fractious, blown-out pop outfit Blue Ocean adds another guitar.  

That dual guitar squall lights up “Lemon Year,” which opens with a fuzzy lick then falls backwards into ecstatic clouds of tone. Natividad sings a slow-blooming melody here. He allows the notes hang in the air until they dissolve, creating a sense of stillness even amid wild caterwauling of guitar. “Scar” is clearer but more hallucinatory, a lucid dream full of sharp edges and bright colors. One guitar snaps and scratches, while the other carves giant arcs of tone, a balance of muscle and reverie. Similarly in “Fortress,” one guitar keeps a twitchy rhythm, another piles up euphoric atmospheres. The vocal melodies feel right and satisfying, a guide through agitation and calm.

There’s quite a lot of contemporary shoegaze out there at the moment, and you may wonder whether you really need any more of it. But Blue Zero cuts through a crowded field with uncalculating grace, its squall and fury sweetened with memorable songs.

Jennifer Kelly

[thehappywun]

Debut gig from BLUE ZERO at the Knockout, as shared by alexa pantalone, terrific sounds from this groop. Keeping my eye on them, very early 90 indie sounding, like MBV mixed in with Duster and Superchunk...