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Album reviews Music

Zebrassieres – I Am A Human

ZEBRASSIERES play a P.Trash showcase tonight (Thursday, March 7) at Izakaya Sushi House. See listing. Rating: NNNN


Zebrassieres emerged from the same fertile Ottawa pop-punk scene as White Wires and Steve Adamyk, though lead singer/songwriter Andrew Payne has recently relocated to Toronto. He’s brought the Zebrassieres name with him, but not his bandmates, so garage-psych rockers the Ketamines (recent transplants from Lethbridge, Alberta) have come aboard. Together, they deliver an infectious whiplash of a re-debut that urgently screams “Pay attention, Toronto.”

Ten songs and 18 minutes long, I Am A Human is pretty much all hooks, a trait that means Zebrassieres fit nicely on pop-punk bills. The Ketamines’ synth textures and precise rhythms, meanwhile, accentuate Payne’s ever-present herky-jerky New Wave-isms. He’s obviously been listening to Devo, though Zebrassiere’s all-killer, no-filler brevity and newfound male/female vocals give them a flavour all their own. It’s so much fun, you’ll hit repeat as soon as it’s over.

Top track: Electric Mutation

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