Possessing a name that sounds like the best children’s book never written, self-declared “pre-autotune pop-rock” outfit The Traveling Zoo seem to be a veritable bundle of surprises. Having six members and already being onto their third album in three years may be the very least of them, however.
The first single from their upcoming Science and Fictions LP, ‘Believe Me’, quite immediately resembles something from the post-Britpop era (despite the group hailing from a small medieval town in the Spanish Asturias) and captures a distinct kind of summer haziness in its slightly washed-out vocals.
It’s a self-assured four-minute flaunting of light guitar driven gaiety, with mild electronic pulses and the odd backing vocal thrown in, and it gently fades out in the same pleasant manner it enters.
So if you fancy a bit of easy listening rock that takes your ears to warmer climes, or often find yourself wondering what Embrace would have sounded like if they were from southern Europe and not West Yorkshire, this is the song for you. And if the latter has ever actually crossed your mind, your imagination truly impresses me.
Words by Benedict