Conquering Fears and Riding Soundwaves: My First Music Review
ZETA — Self-titled debut
Release date — June 16, 2017
Rating — 4.5/5

I’ve been in love with music for a really long time. The love affair started with spending too many hours browsing Pandora, finding new songs to add to my playlist instead of studying, and developed into going to concerts as often as possible and dissecting albums upon second listen (I always reserve the first listen for simply enjoying the music). There are a lot of moments upon which I can think back and immediately associate those memories with certain records. For example, I’ll always associate Covette’s Machines are Taking Over with the summer after my junior year of high school, and I’ll always associate Periphery’s This Time It’s Personal with a friend who wanted me to listen to the album immediately and my falling asleep before the third track.
One of the items in my Medium bio, of course, is music. I want to write about it. It’s a life-sustaining force. I’ve never thought about it before because I’m not an aficionado. I don’t know all the technicalities. But I want to start. I believe that it’s never too late to embark on a new journey, or to accept a new challenge. This attitude I’ve held for so long is problematic. Making a meaningful contribution starts with believing that you can do exactly that.
So, to get my music-reviewing career started, let’s talk about ZETA. I know I can speak for most fans of Daniel Tompkins when I say that this album was a long time coming. The TesseracT frontman has had this band in the works for a long time, and we were starting to worry that the project would never come to fruition. We have all been so excited, so impatient for this record, and now that it’s here I have to say that the initial reaction has been exemplary of this. #9 Debut on Billboard Dance and bestselling in several categories on Bandcamp, including synthwave and all genre.
ZETA’s Bandcamp bio states that the band “fuses the retro, synth heavy decade of the ’80s with futuristic imagery, bringing past and future together in a Cyberpunk-esque package.” This sounds perfectly accurate, especially given Tompkins’s track record. In a culture obsessed with shows like Stranger Things with soundtracks from synth masters Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein of S U R V I V E, ZETA’s album comes at a perfect time.
“Silent Waves” is the first track on the album, and it’s a powerful one. It rolls you right into the album with Dan’s vocals and dreamy instrumentals, giving you a taste of the familiar while also presenting something totally new. Fans of TesseracT and the first two Skyharbor albums will quickly take note of the metal influences and undertones on this album that complicate the more lighthearted, danceable nature. Tracks like “Gates of Hell” and “The Distance” have the ‘80s-esque electronic instrumentals, but they also have rougher vocals from Tompkins and churning guitar and bass that are more reminiscent of Polaris, making them less of club hits and more of songs to which listeners can thrash around. There are also some comical moments on the album; for example, in “Beat the System,” Dan energetically sings, “Just screw it,” which is undoubtedly the best lyric of 2017, but he still manages to create a strong message. The blend of these elements is more natural than it may sound in this article, which is what makes Tompkins, Katie Jackson, and Paul Antonio Ortiz such genius producers.
The fifth song, “Lock and Key,” is one of my favorite on the record. The way that Dan withholds that perfect harmonic triad until the very last chorus is tantalizing and worth it. I felt the harmony in the first couple verses and wondered why he didn’t layer on that third note, only to figure out that “wait for me to overcome” applies to the listener, as well. Wait for me to overcome the power of the song and you’ll get a reward: synth-heavy, musical bliss.

“…and you’re taking the pain from my mind.” This is one of the lines from the chorus of “Causeway.” I love a good song in a minor key, which is probably the reason for my choosing this as my favorite track. Dan’s voice hits the notes hard here and the percussion is sharp in contrast with the smooth track, beats pulsating like tires on a highway. The song is continually building to an overpowering climax that fades into the void. The chorus — fast, deep, cathartic love — is perfect, and echoes the way that fans such as myself must feel about this album with its long-overdue release; it is ethereal and it is dangerous to listen to while you’re driving. Next to last on the album is perfect placement for “Causeway”; the anthemic crooning of “faster, fast love, deeper, deep love” at the conclusion of the track encourages you to step a little harder on that gas pedal and accelerate into the final track, “Chemical Zone.” It’s something you have to wait for, but you’re not at all disappointed.
The last track discusses the fading of lights and chemical burning that is nothing less than apocalyptic. There are tracks on the album, such as “Right Time” and “The Distance” (“I’ll keep moving ’til the lights go out”), that encourage determination and diligence in the face of heartache, pain, and adversity, and “Chemical Zone” feels like a test. Now everything is coming to an end. What did you learn from listening to us?
Check out the album on Apple Music, YouTube, and Spotify, and then buy the album on Bandcamp. This album is magical and you should all have a piece of it. There’s something for everyone to love here.
Questions or thoughts? How’d I do on my first album review? I’d appreciate any feedback you’ve got. Leave it in the comments.
