Xe (Zs album)

Last updated
Xe
Xe official cover art.jpg
Studio album by
Zs
ReleasedJanuary 27, 2015 (2015-01-27)
Recorded2011 – 2014,
Future-Past Studios,
Hudson, New York
Genre Free jazz, experimental rock, jazz fusion, post-minimalism, math rock
Length42:23
Label Northern Spy Records
Producer Patrick Higgins
Zs chronology
Grain
(2013)
Xe
(2015)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 82/100 [1]
Review scores
SourceRating
Pitchfork Media (8.0/10) [2]
PopMatters Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Tiny Mix Tapes Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [4]

Xe is the seventh studio album by American experimental ensemble Zs. It is their second album to feature guitarist/composer Patrick Higgins and percussionist Greg Fox, noted for his work with Liturgy and Guardian Alien. [5] The album artwork was designed by Tauba Auerbach and was acquired for the permanent collection of the SF MOMA in 2016.

Zs is a Brooklyn, New York-based experimental band. Since the band's inception, Zs has incarnated as everything from a sextet to a duo, now solidified into the quartet of Patrick Higgins, Greg Fox (percussion), Sam Hillmer and Michael Beharie (electronics). While Zs' music has been variously categorized as no-wave, noise, post-minimalist, drone, and psych, it is primarily concerned with making music that challenges the physical and mental limitations of both performer and listener. The band has been heralded by The New York Times as "one of the strongest avant-garde bands in New York."

Patrick Higgins is an American avant-garde composer, guitarist, and producer from New York City, known for his work in experimental and contemporary classical music. He plays guitar and composes in the ensemble Zs, described by The New York Times as "one of the strongest avant-garde bands in New York." His work as composer traverses the styles of the European avant-garde and the tradition of post-minimalist Downtown New York music.

Liturgy is an American experimental rock band from Brooklyn, New York. The band features Hunter Hunt-Hendrix, Bernard Gann (guitar), Tia Vincent-Clark (bass) and Leo Didkovsky (drums). In the band's early days, they described their music as "transcendental black metal," which was described in a declaration written by Hunt-Hendrix, however they have since moved away from a black metal sound and experimenting into other genres including progressive rock, hip hop and electronic music. Hunt-Hendrix cites Swans, Glenn Branca, and Lightning Bolt as influences.

Contents

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."The Future of Royalty"2:27
2."Wolf Government"5:59
3."Corps"12:27
4."Weakling"5:49
5."XE"18:12

Personnel

Credit Information taken from AllMusic and the Northern Spy Records website [6] [7]

AllMusic Online music database

AllMusic is an online music database. It catalogs more than 3 million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musical artists and bands. It launched in 1991, predating the World Wide Web. As of 2015, AllMusic is owned by RhythmOne.

Zs

Technical personnel

Heba Kadry is an Egyptian mastering engineer who currently resides in Brooklyn, New York. She is best known for her work with Bjork, Beach House, The Mars Volta, Neon Indian, Wooden Shjips, Lightning Bolt, White Hills, Alex G, Future Islands, Liturgy, !!!, White Lung, ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, and The Hotelier. Kadry worked as a staff engineer at SugarHill Recording Studios from 2005 to 2006.

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References

  1. "Reviews for XE by ZS". Metacritic. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
  2. "Zs:Xe". Pitchfork Media . Retrieved 2015-09-27.
  3. "Zs:Xe". PopMatters . Retrieved 2015-09-27.
  4. "ZS - Xe". Tiny Mix Tapes . Retrieved 2015-09-27.
  5. "Discography — GREG FOX". Infinite Limbs Records. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
  6. "XE - Zs Credits". AllMusic . Retrieved 2015-09-27.
  7. "Northern Spy Records Xe". Northern Spy Records . Retrieved 2015-09-27.