Jiggsaw "Zero Generation" (Playing Field)
By
Friday. Jan 20, 3:35 PM
Barely sufficient as a secondhand Franz Ferdinand / The Pixies.

Zero Generation sounds exactly what its title is against: nothing more than a teenage marketing campaign. With distorted guitars and various effects, along with a continuous back and forth relationship amongst the keyboard and drums, the listener is left feeling as if they have just taken a space age trip. However, the effects aren't enough to keep your interest through the entire length of the album. Having been recorded in various locations, some of which include members of the band's basement, kitchen, and garage, it certainly shows within the recording. Zero Generation includes 10 tracks (reportedly the best 10 out of 32 possibilities) that combine dance grooves with poetic lyrics, the latter being possibly the band's best aspect. "Mark Jiggsaw," as he chooses to be called, has often been “compared” to the likes of Kurt Cobain and Bob Dylan because of his writing style. One of the tracks, "Breathe," involves the struggles Mark went through in losing one of his friends to schizophrenia while songs such as the title track and "Bottles of Voodoo" contain a bit of political satire. Having been described as the Midwest's "most rocking indie band," in my opinion the band sounds nothing more than a current rip off of Franz Ferdinand and The Pixies, barely sufficient as background music at a party. Although I have not heard anything about this band in the past (nor would I mind if I never hear of them again), they have apparently shared the stage with the likes of Plain White T's, Pedro The Lion, and Evergreen Terrace. If one were interested in looking up information on the band, you'd find it extremely difficult to do so online, as the only sources are the band's page on Playing Field's site and their Myspace page, the latter of which describes the band as "having been making music since before we were born and will continue long after we're dead. Buy our record." Joke or no joke, I'd suggest you think twice before taking Jiggsaw’s advice.
www.jiggsaw.net
www.playing-field.com

Listen to a song from this album in our Radio section!

Nina Hichak

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