Earl Zinger's "Speaker Stack Commandments" is zany, delightful, light-hearted and complicated. For those who've followed Zinger's career, the fact that "Speaker Stack" is everywhere at once and chock full of puns will be no surprise. This medley of brit-pop, jazz, hip-hop, and dub defies the notion of taking anything or anyone too seriously. Zinger's second full-length is like "The Love Below" of British contemporary music, replete with the flavour of De la Soul's classic "Three Feet High and Rising," The Streets "original pirate material," and a 1960s variety show.
Zinger is a masterful story-teller who flows with jazz-styled, hip-hop ease (think, Q-Tip meets Mark Murphy). On the techno meets Dingwalls track "Best Session Ever," Zinger's ability to lyrically convey scene, mood, style and vibe hits its brilliant peak. "Who Killed Saturday Night" similarly reaches the height of the visual-musical surreal evoking images of an Elton John/Joe Jackson hybrid jamming away on a fierce organ solo. "38 Bus Stop Man" is pretty straight-ahead 80s hip-hop soul, all the way roller-rink stylee. "Just Might Be" beckons for white go-go boots and a polyester mini-sheath with a twist, of course; Zinger's vocals take on a 80s new-wave darkness à la Human League's Phil Oakely. "Skujan" combines zippy Japanese-English dialogue with blippy keys and an unexpected string track. I gotta say, the Zinger kind of loses me around track 13, but picks back up in style with the big band finisher "Think They All Gone Home Now."
As campy as "Speaker Stack" is, it can be difficult not to take this project with a grain of salt. However, it is just as easy to hear the depths of Zinger's talent. Few rival his peculiar alchemy of lyric and sound. If you're looking for something completely different, unexpected, impossible to categorize, while infinitely entertaining then "Speaker Stack Commandments" hits the mark.
Oh, and by the way, Earl Zinger and Rob Gallagher (2 Banks of 4/Galliano)-same guy.
