Zopp delivers dollops of Yes, Marillion, Genesis and The Tangent on the group's second album, Dominion. Of course, this is more of a UK-based one-man project -- that man being Ryan W. Stevenson, who plays just about everything here save percussion. Yet Zopp still sounds like a full-fledged albeit keyboard-heavy band. The music is dense but wholly accessible, inspired by the Canterbury scene and expanded to include elements of jazz, ambient and avant-garde music, psychedelic rock and sheer prog bliss.
While 2020's self-titled Zopp debut did not contain vocals, this one does. Stevenson shares singing duties (he sounds like Roland Orzabel from Tears For Fears) on various tracks with two guest singers. While they add dimension to the music, they often sound buried in the mix. At its core, Zopp remains a project that showcases Stevenson’s musical depth. Woodwinds and brass bolster a bouncy instrumental track like “Bushnell Keeler,” while the anxious “You” is an urgent 11-minute sonic excursion and “Uppmärksamhet” offers a moody breather. Dominion’s finale, the soaring 14-and-a-half-minute “Toxicity,” is anything but toxic. In fact, listening to this 42-minute album front to back -- with its broad eclecticism, glorious melodies and mind-bending cover -- is all but guaranteed to put you in a good mood.
Track Listing:
1. Amor Fati
2. You
3. Bushnell Keeler
4. Uppmärksamhet
5. Reality Tunnels
6. Wetiko Approaching
7. Toxicity
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