Search - Dragons of Zynth :: Coronation Thieves

A Fire-Breathing Debut

Marcos F. Hernandez | Chicago, Illinois | 07/10/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"While I've been aware of the Dragons of Zynth for quite some time, it wasn't until I saw them performing live in an opening slot for Saul Williams' Tar Spangled Banner Tour that I fully understood the magnitude of their act. Though many reviewers have been content to treat them as a novelty of some sort and simply make lazy, though inevitable, comparisons to TV On The Radio, DoZ are more than just imitators to innovation.



With this mind-blowing debut the Dragons have staked their claim on the landscape of "future music," proving that no genre is out of their reach. Like TV On The Radio, whose members contribute generously to Coronation Thieves, the Dragons fuse rock, R&B, post-punk, hip-hop, jazz and almost any other musical style you can think of effortlessly together. That's where the similarities end.



While TVOTR's songs often lend themselves to stripped down or a cappella arrangements, the Dragons prove that they were born to ROCK! The broken beats of "Get Off," the unholy screams of "Breaker," and the syncopated madness of "Ticket to Ride" are filled with an energy unparalleled in avant-garde rock. Not to say that their incapable of subtle moments, the slow-groove meditation of "Funky Genius" and the staggering lover's swoon of "Closer" prove that this band has soul, but it's the acrobatic vitality of the rockers that characterize their live sets that will stick with you.



If you have any doubts check out their performances on Daytrotter and Dublab, they're evidence of the sweaty, sexy, funk-jam that is DoZ's mission statement. Whether their future lays in shoegazing slow burners, R&B ballads, or metal mosh starters, I'm anxious to see where this talented young band goes next."