Zula’s Nate and Henry Terepka have been hard at work on a short yet sweet EP, released under the handle Zula/Annex. Dipping their toes even deeper into their krautrock influences, Water Pressure is a swirling mass of sonics, and much like the EP’s title suggests, each song feels like it’s swimming blissfully. As the Terepka’s distinctive vocals take a bit of a back seat on this one, they seem to act as human guides through a vast network of blips and bloops, resting on the line between human and digital realms. It is the sounds of information traveling through wires and motherboards and into our fleshy ears.
There’s a psychedelic embrace of tech-driven sounds, and knowing what this band does live only makes it all the more credible. “MeUp” is an embrace of upbeat pop projected through a blurry lens, while “Deep Data Rush” drowns any semblance of structure under a wash of electronic ambience. Every choice of sound seems intentional, deliberately reminiscent of electricity. Somewhere under the wash there is a very clear message: how can we find the humanness in a world surrounded by artificial fabrications. The question is easier asked than answered, but Water Pressure is a successful sonic exploration of that question.
Water Pressure is out March 10 on Inflated.
