Sometimes, it's truly hard to deal with bands that play Stoner Rock/Metal. Some of them lose track and think that recording and playing as putrid as they can is a trace of an organic sound. Sorry, but no, this idea is false. The music can be expressed whatever is the sonority one can use, and the difference is that the raw you sound, the lesser will be your chances to become known. And maybe the French quartet ZOE can teach some people what means to be organic without being incomprehensible on "Back into the Light".

They play into a Stoner/Hard Rock way with clear influences from AC/DC and MOTÖRHEAD, using very good charming melodies and choruses, a good insight on the technical parts, but with a difference: things are working in a very good form in their music. It flows from the hearts, not for a conscious choice (or, in other words, is something forced). It's nasty and crude, but in the right way, and they really know how to make the time spent on hearing the album in a great experience, indeed. The sonority used for the band tries to be organic and understandable ate the same time. And things worked in a way that is very good in this sense, because the crude feeling comes from the instrumental tunes (as they used the most simple devices they could) recorded on the recordings sessions, but with a very good mixing and mastering that allows everyone to have the clear idea of what the quartet is up to.

The songs are all very good, but there are special moments when things are hard to resist, as on the organic approach on the melodies of "Back Into the Light" and "Voices" (pay attention to the guitar lines on both songs), the frantic and accessible approach used on "In Praise of Laziness" (very good work on bass guitar and drums), the tribal and catchy tempos of "Go Like a Bomb" and "By Your Side", and the mastodonic weight shown on "Wild Wild City" (the vocals are truly good) are the best ones. But it doesn't mean that the others aren't as good as these ones.

ZOE's musical work is truly an oasis in the middle of the filthy desert of Stoner Rock today, so take a ticket to ride on "Back Into the Light", and enjoy it!