Life Like Luster - 1691

Product Description After more than two long years of work, Half Zaftig's debut full-length release, Life Like Luster, is finally finished. A suite of 12 songs, totaling just under 56 minutes of music, Life Like Luster gleefully stomps across stylistic and genre lines, resulting in a dizzying goulash of the grotesque and the sublime (inal). From sunny pop melodies, to raging atonal metal conflagrations, to 70's electric piano balladry and back again - Life Like Luster left the kitchen sink behind long, long ago. Half Zaftig began as a means for Seattle singer/songwriter/guitarst Shawn 'Yogi' Farley to get out and play the songs from his first two solo albums, Any Raw Flesh? and Salve (both available here at CD Baby!) in front of live audiences. After a few months of unstable membership, the current trio lineup solidified in November of 2004, when Lizzy Daymont switched to the bass chair (after playing second guitar), and the ensemble was rounded out by the versatile Pete Johnston on drums. Working completely independently, the members of Half Zaftig rehearsed and worked hard for two years, scrounging for studio time in between, before finally completing their debut full-length album. Review Even if Half Zaftig hadn't bought this review as part of Strangercrombie, there would be at least a couple things to really love about them: They make use of the Tim Gunn approved word "zaftig," which is always appreciated, and they have the infinite courage (or, as the kids say, "balls") to cover such untouchable bands as My Bloody Valentine, Neil Young, and Van Halen. And if they're not better than those three acts combined (sorry, your Strangercrombie dollar doesn't go that far), they at least do loving, spot-on versions of such canonical songs as "Only Shallow," "In a Simple Rhyme," and "Cinnamon Girl." In addition to the influences they've covered, the band also draw upon classic rock, pop, blues, metal, and Seattle's rich grunge history for their originals, any of which would sound just fine sandwiched between songs on the End or KISW. Over the course of this disc's [12] tracks, Half Zaftig prove themselves again and again to be formidable musicians with an unshakeable artistic vision. The band seem pretty self-aware for an aspiring act - their songs are peppered with self-referential lyrics and sly nods to various artists and genres - yet they don't seem to take themselves too seriously, and they're not above the occasional joke. Their ability to fluidly switch styles from song to song is evidence of their technical proficiency, and they clearly had access to enough studio time to make even these "rough mixes" sound superbly clean and professional. And these are all wonderful traits for a struggling, unknown band to possess - traits that will serve them well on their inevitable rise through the local bars to the arenas, private jets, and the world-conquering fame that awaits them. -ERIC GRANDY --The Stranger, 1/24/07
ASIN: B000VBBSYA
VSKU: GGV.B000VBBSYA.N
Condition: New
Author/Artist:Half Zaftig
Binding: Audio CD