We all have our own version of musical nostalgia; in fact, a certain strain of it has become an industry in its own right. But you can keep your half-baked tribute shows and half-competent cover bands; I’d much rather wander back through my own formative years and fill in the gaps, exploring the bands I somehow never found the time to appreciate back in the day. Hey, you can’t be everywhere.
The fact that Tabitha Zu are re-releasing their music is perfect for me, because, despite them working with bands that I was, and indeed am still, a big fan of, somehow, to my dying shame, they passed me by the first time round. (Though in my defense, I have been on time for many of singer Melanie Garside’s immaculate, post-Zu releases.)
“Heard It Before” was the band’s ’91 debut single, and it captures all the angst and attitude, ferocity and fervor, energy and raw artistry that defined, not just this band but the underground sound of that era. (How did I ever miss them?) And those are all elements that modern, by-numbers, indie music seems bereft of today. Okay, gross generalization, but if Tabitha Zu were just starting out now, they would knock spots off most of their peers, and this one single would see them as the darlings of the music press. If we still actually had a music press!
It’s chaotic, it’s punk-infused, it’s aggressive, it’s infectious, and for all its chainsaw-like outer skin, bend an ear in, and you can hear an almost ethereal, almost ambient, almost poppy heart. But more than that, the song scares the living bejesus out of me, something modern indie, alt or underground music hasn’t done in a long time.
Why can’t we have nice things like this anymore?
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