Here we are with our thirteenth singles round-up of 2020. This one features five great tunes, which crept out into this currently horrible world over the past few weeks with a mission to make it better. These five songs include more great bands and singers from London, Bangor, Rugby (via West Lothian), Raleigh (North Carolina) and Canada . Two of these acts have appeared on With Just A Hint Of Mayhem before; Dying Habit and Eyeball and I am confident that everyone of this lot will appear again sometime in the future. Get into these great tunes right now!
“Mother” – The Dead Zoo
Jon, Gabby, Kaoru and Somrata are the Dead Zoo and this is their first single. It is a cover of a song originally by Puffy (aka Puffy AmiYumi a Japanese pop rock duo), an act completely new to me, as are the Dead Zoo. The tune has a real laid back 60s west coast feel with overlays of jangly indie guitar and an undercurrent of UK post punk. Kaoru’s hauntingly beautiful vocals wash over you and hypnotise you into a relaxed dreamlike state. She has incredible clarity in her vocal delivery. I assume the lyrics are Japanese, and I do not understand any of them, but it is such a classy track who cares! The video is nicely done using Zoom or something similar, as a bonus you also get to see Jon the drummer in a onesie! Regular readers know that my name is Bill, but the Dead Zoo are the only group of people in the world allowed to call me Helen! If I told you why I would have to kill you 😉
“Honestly” – Dying Habit
This is the third appearance at Mayhem Towers for Bangor’s finest rock band Dying Habit, to be fair they are also one of the UK’s best bands. This track came out a few weeks ago. “Honestly” is a hard rocking tune with a nod to pop sensibility. It showcases a band that really know their stuff and seem to work together effortlessly. I want to see them live even more now! The video gives the songs undercurrent of darkness a lighter touch with the two protagonists having some rather spiffing paint fun!
“I Love You, You’re The Worst” – Emily Burns
Now this is a stunningly well produced dark pop tune reminiscent of Lily Allen and Kate Nash lyrically. It is underpinned with a real classy modern R & B feel. It crept into my head and took up residence on the first listen. The video, with Emily playing a multitude of characters is rather splendid too!
“Paralyze (Theme for a Recurring Film)” – Eyeball
A marvellous instrumental piece of trippy, proggy synth which would fit perfectly on the soundtrack of the darkest David Lynch film. The sound is like an orchestral Giorgio Moroder inspired piece. Eyeball’s bio claims they are from North Carolina, I think that is fake news, I believe they have emanated from a bizarre parallel universe. A universe where proggy, synth rock is king and Eyeball are it’s royal family!
“The Social” – DJ Shub (feat. Phoenix)
This is an inspiring example of how to use your voice for good. It has some first class and very phat beats and a wonderful use of Native American chants. Vocally I was reminded of Lauryn Hill at her Fugees peak. Not only is this a great tune it supports Black Lives Matter and points out that Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Matter. All proceeds from this song will go to organizations benefiting these initiatives that are very dear to DJ Shub and Phoenix’s hearts. America needs this right now, hell the world needs this passion for life right now given the extreme racist regimes that exist on the planet today!
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With Just A Hint Of Mayhem 
[…] band that we love here at With Just A Hint Of Mayhem; The Dead Zoo. We have featured them before, click here to read our review of their rather splendiferous single “Mother”. I have had a sneak […]
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