Zox – The Wait / 2005 Armo / 13 Tracks / http://www.zoxband.com / info@zoxband.com / Reviewed 10 June 2005

Zox comes through on “The Wait” with a ska/rock sound that looks at bands like Real Big Fish as much as they do John Maher; couple that with a strong instrumentation throughout and what one has is a radio-friendly band that is not afraid to create a stomping, hard-rocking track (Carolyn). Some of the tracks do not maintain the high-rocking sound of “Carolyn”, but in their lack of rock they create a compelling and nuanced sound that will make individuals continually listen in. This is the case with “Anything But Fine”, which does end up adding a little fuzz to the track later on (but by this point, Zox has already made their case with finesse). Starting out the follow-up to “Anything But Fine (Better If It’s Worse) with a bass/guitar dynamic that sounds uncannily like The Offspring’s “Tehran”:, the bass present on the track really allows Zox to take a new, more brutal direction. A track like “Bridge Burning” seems to lack any real “oomph” to the track, but Zox still can chalk the track up as a victory due to the very challenging arrangement that Eli (vocals) and John (drums) create on the track.

To incorporate a violin into the normal style of the band is impressive in its own right, but to create a rhythm that is as memorable as a good guitar riff (as Spencer does during “Big Fish”) shows a virtuosity with eir instrument that is unsurpassable. “Big Fish” is the first track by Zox that really is influenced audibly by other bands – hints of both Weezer and Wilco make their debut on the track. Likewise, “Satellite” has the sound of “Synchronicity”-era Police as well as Modern English, moderated by the early-nineties alternative sound that finds its way through all of “The Wait”. Zox comes out on “The Wait” with an incredibly solid sound that is almost definitely destined for the bright lights of Clearchannel-owned radio; one can only barely construct how intense the live show must be from things like Spencer’s violin solo on a track like “Spades”. Finishing off the disc with “I Am Only Waiting”, Zox allows listeners to gently disengage from the disc a changed individual. Zox plays their distinctive yet familiar brand of rock solidly and without fault through the entirety of the disc; with this effort it makes sense that the band was able to push 12,000 copies of their prior release.

Top Tracks: Spades, Carolyn

Rating: 6.6/10