Video: Cut Copy – “Need You Now”

With their new album Zonoscope, Cut Copy have created one of 2011’s first genuinely exciting albums.

While unabashedly continuing down the same path of epic dance rock for which they’ve been known since 2001’s I Thought of Numbers, Cut Copy have also taken a step forward in terms of production and overall sound — thanks in part to producer Ben Allen (Animal Collective, Deerhunter).

Most of the songs on Zonoscope rely on the slow buildup of layers of sound, and usually end up in a blissed-out, metallic groove. There are several moments where you’re just about to skip to the next track, but then suddenly a new sound or bassline changes the song and seizes your attention. Zonoscope requires patience, but that patience is rewarded with vignettes of soaring, electro-house breakdowns that will have listeners scouring their bedrooms for glow-sticks and VapoRub.

On the vocal side of things, tracks like “Need You Know” and “Corner Of The Sky” find Dan Whitford doing a great job channeling his inner Ian Curtis and Dave Gahan. Inevitable comparisons aside, the album is brilliantly paced and full of expansive grooves that give the music room to breathe and live inside your head.

Cut Copy on tour
04/01 – New York, NY – Terminal 5
04/02 – New York, NY – Terminal 5
04/04 – Boston, MA – House of Blues
04/05 – Montreal, QC – Club Soda
04/06 – New York, NY – Terminal 5
04/07 – Toronto, ON – Sound Academy
04/08 – Chicago, IL – Riviera
04/09 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
04/12 – Seattle, WA – Showbox Sodo
04/16 – San Francisco, CA – The Grand Ballroom – Regency
04/17 – San Francisco, CA – The Grand Ballroom – Regency
04/20 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
04/22 – Austin, TX – Stubbs BBQ
04/23 – New Orleans, LA – Republic