J. Zunz - Hibiscus (Rocket Recordings, 2020)
J. Zunz (Lorena Quintanilla) has embarked on her solo project, but continues to move in the wonderful dream world that she has already populated with Alberto Gonzalez for several albums as Lorelle Meets The Obsolete. Because sometimes she feels too restricted and wants to work on her ideas alone. While she shreds her guitar in the other project, as J. Zunz, it’s just her and a huge amount of electronic sounds, without losing that contemporary shoegaze sound. The sound on “Hibiscus” is incredibly minimal and extremely fragile. Her ghostly and thin voice swirls through the songs and doesn’t really offer a firm hold. On the contrary. It adds an extra dose of fragility. ‘Hibiscus’ is like fragile stained glass. There are shards that cling to your skin, but at the same time you dare to walk on them barefoot. Vocally J. Zunz is very close to Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star). Musically as well, but the whole is coloured differently because of the manipulated sounds. The opening track ‘Y’ bridges the gap between her work with Lorelle Meets The Obsolete and as a solo artist. A scraping guitar in the background, a cheerful melody line breaks the gloom in which her voice is shrouded. The previously released ‘Four Women And Darkness’ tells the personal story of how her grandmother had to hide from soldiers as a child. A bass echoes the fear in the sound. The constructive drama. The scream on “Jupiter”. The pounding of “33:33”. The tenderness of “Overtime”. Hibiscus’ is a fabulous mix of shoegaze textures and dark psychedelia, more in feeling than in sound. There are a lot of contrasts on the album. Songs that sound dangerous and consist of many brutal layers. Others are sweet until J. Zunz adds her voice to the mix. Songs that get the chance to fade out slowly. Others that are brutally cut short, as if their very existence is threatened. “Hibiscus” is without a doubt a rare favourite.
Released on Rocket Recordings,