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December 19, 2012

3528 - FOXTROT ZULU - Tonight (2008)

3527 - FOXTROT ZULU - Frozen In Time (1999)

FOXTROT ZULU
''FROZEN IN TIME''
MAY 11 1999
41:36

1. The American/4:12
2. The Day the Moon Crashed to the Ground/3:01
3. Pretty Perfect Goddamned Day/3:41
4. Statue of My Friend/3:32
5. Reply/3:58
6. Cop Cars & Credit Cards/3:30
7. Did You Know?/4:00
8. Seven Men/6:34
9. Into the Daytime/4:05
10. Maryanne/5:04

REVIEW
by William Ruhlmann
On its third album (but its first to be distributed generally), Foxtrot Zulu decisively joins the ranks of the post-Grateful Dead jam bands, though, like most of its predecessors (Dave Matthews Band, Phish, etc.), not to mention the Dead itself, you can tell that the album format is not its primary métier. Most of the songs are given quickstep dance tempos, and, averaging only a little over four minutes each, they all sound like they could go on at least twice as long. It's interesting that, while the Dead comparison is inevitable, like the other bands of its generation, Foxtrot Zulu plays consistently faster, and with greater rhythmic complexity, than the somewhat lumbering Dead; these bands may be going in the same direction, but they are intent on getting to their destination faster. The song lyrics have a satiric, left-wing slant, but are underdeveloped, and Nate Edmunds' vocals are appropriately serviceable. What really matters in this music are the grooves and the unusual mixture of sounds, especially when saxophone and trumpet waft in and give the proceedings a more overtly jazzy feel. Occasionally, you feel like you're listening to a lite jazz FM station, and now and then bits of R.E.M. or Steely Dan float by, but the album gets better as it goes along (if it had been released in the old LP days, you'd play side two over and over). Especially notable is the atmospheric change of pace "Seven Men," a relief after so many fast tempos. This is a very promising album by a young band with places to go.

BIOGRAPHY
by Jason Ankeny
Jam-rockers Foxtrot Zulu formed on the campus of the University of Rhode Island in 1995; comprising guitarists Neal Jones and Nate "The Kid" Edmunds, bassist Brad Haas, saxophonist Terrystan "TK" Kyan, trumpeter Jeff Light, percussionist Paul Miller and drummer Jeff Roberge, the group quickly emerged as a popular live attraction throughout the New England region, releasing their debut LP Moe's Diner within months of forming. Burn Slow followed in 1997, and two years later Foxtrot Zulu returned with Frozen in Time.

3526 - FOXTROT ZULU - Burn Slow (1997)

3525 - FOXTROT ZULU - Moe's Diner (1995)