Something Like Sound

Many people like to say music is their life. Typically, this involves listening to their favorite artists on their iPod, learning the guitar, scribbling down lyrics rattling through their head, and dreaming of making it big someday. Perhaps they even have a music blog. However, few people have more right to say that music is their life than Michael Zapruder. His job for Pandora as Curator involves looking for every piece of music they don’t already have in their collection. Naturally, he listens to a lot of music. With this incredible intake of music of every kind, the influences on his musical style when composing blend and impact each other until the product music is as unique as it is varied. His latest release, Dragon Chinese Cocktail Horoscope, perfectly illustrates this one-of-a-kind artist’s abilities. His folk style is preferential to fans of Andrew Bird and Arcade Fire.

Music: There are few musicians that can be described as eclectic and organized at the same time. Michael Zapruder is one of those musicians. Quite often, melodies seem to be going off into nowhere. It’s as if the song was over and he is going on some tangent, playing whatever comes to mind before the end of the track. However, that’s just the beginning of the song on Dragon Chinese Cocktail Horoscope. Everything always seems to come together though. The typical song structures have no home in this album. A good example is the progressive song “South Kenosha.” It remains unpredictable from start to finish. Granted, a considerable amount of the song does repeat itself, it still feels like the first time due to slight variations throughout.

A remarkable aspect to Zapruder’s work is the wide range of instruments that appear in the album. It is often difficult to differentiate between them all because of how many there are. Everything from the guitar to synthesizers to members of the orchestra. Despite the variety, everything blends together perfectly to form an indistinct melody, rooting the album with a solid background for Zapruder’s guiding vocals.

Lyrics: Poetry is more the point of Zapruder’s lyrics than anything else. The songs typically portray a scene or situation. The first track, “Happy New Year,” paints a picture of a time when the Chinese New Year fell at the same time as the Gregorian New Year and the general chaos that goes on. Small portraits are typically raised and replaced quickly. “South Kenosha” starts with a picture of Vietnam being bombed and transitions into lovers enjoying the beautiful summer. Although most songs don’t have a readily apparent message, the lyrics still effectively create images that float along with the wandering melody.

Conclusion: Michael Zapruder has compiled a heap of music over his career. Once, he wrote a new song every week for an entire year, posting them online weekly. This ability to compose is clearly seen from start to finish on Dragon Chinese Cocktail Horoscope. From the opening piano of “Happy New Year” to the epic, 9 minute-long “Black Wine” to electronic finish of “Experimental Film,” Zapruder brings a depth to every corner of the album. With his poetic lyrics, varied instrumentation, and profound sound quality, Michael Zapruder has produced an album that can be listened to many times without becoming old.

Dragon Chinese Cocktail Horoscope will be available March 24 on SideCho Records

Watch the video for “Ads For Feelings” right here!