Future Memory by Zed - ALBUM REVIEW
Kiwi icons Zed re-emerge on the scene with their first album in 20 years.
In a sanitised version of their younger selves, Zed have made a re-emergence onto the scene with their new release, Future Memory, their first album in 20 years. It’s impossible to deny the legacy of this band, whose debut in 1997 and subsequent takeover of local airwaves has cemented them at the heart of 90s and early 2000s nostalgia. Their biggest hit, Renegade Fighter, is a ubiquitous anthem — everyone under the sun has heard it, enjoyed it and screamed it at the top of their lungs. Future Memory, however, takes the band down an easy-listening path which proves rather different to their raucous, anthemic catalogue.
Eschewing their grungy guitars in favour of a softer, poppier sound, there’s a radio friendly quality to this new album, but a radio friendliness that I think could only work in New Zealand. There’s a certain cleanliness in the sonic aesthetic that feels like a stark contrast to their younger years. Yet, the retrospective lyricism, the desire to connect and uplift, and the band’s positive outlook serve as a refreshing and contemplative mark of maturity. Given our pessimistic economic and social climate, there’s comfort in the return of a group we are all familiar with taking on the message of community and support, as opposed to the calls for upheaval, which peppered their more boisterous rise on the scene.
In a certain way, this comeback reminds me of Take That’s return in 2006. While the circumstances and scale of these two artists are radically different, the refinement of sound is the same, and there’s a certain wisdom that comes with stepping away and re-emerging with a grown up energy. In the case of Take That, it was a plea to “have a little patience,” but with Zed it’s a reassurance that '“you will never be lonely.” Perhaps it’s a fully developed pre-frontal cortex that makes all the difference. There’s also a hint of Dane Rumble, which makes the music feel slightly dated without being nostalgic. That’s not a negative thing at all — this just appeals to a particular demographic, but perhaps not the current crop of K Road regulars. Future Memory is made for mainstream consumption, and is deliberately as inoffensive as possible to achieve that aim. At a time when legacy acts are slowly being drowned out by exciting and game-changing international artists like Chappell Roan, Charli xcx and Sabrina Carpenter, playing it safe seems like an odd choice for a band trying their darnedest to freshen things up.
There are some real high points on this album though, particularly in the track Face The Rain. This track shines in the way it builds towards the chorus, and a belting vocal becomes a reminder of Zed’s anthemic past. “How can I face the rain alone?” is the cry that strikes at the heart of this album, that yearning for connection, whether that be for mateship, a relationship, or for a sense of community. Embers is perhaps the most alternative song on the album, an instrumental outro that feels fresh and exciting, with its lethargic pace and musical experimentation. I kind of wish more of the album followed this path, but again, there’s nothing wrong with dad pop.
With their industry connections, legacy and name recognition, Zed’s newest offering is very likely to be a success. Where Renegade Fighter really felt like a band emerging onto the scene to shake shit up, Future Memory feels like a band still figuring out where they fit in the current music landscape. While they can always lean on their legacy to fill a stadium, this new album can only be compared to Take That’s comeback almost two decades ago, (Beautiful World really does sound eerily similar to Future Memory). I remember when Patience dropped — it felt like a shift in time and space. That was a comeback in the best sense of the word! And so this leaves me wondering, then, whether Zed’s take on adult contemporary really feels contemporary at all. What I do know for sure is there’s enough everyman fodder in these 11 songs for Radio Hauraki to want a slice — and perhaps that’s the win they’ve spent the last 20 years trying to secure.
(Side note — how great do these stills look!)
