Shezoo - 'Change' Hot

Good, strong, fist-pumping European Rock.

Here be some good, strong, fist-pumping European Rock. ‘Change’, the fourth album from Shezoo in all its incarnations, is a collection of eleven tracks that fairly motors along – always powerful, occasionally inspirational, and rarely dull.
Shezoo are Zurich-based, although there are no Swiss members in the band. This Hard Rocking four-piece consists of members from Germany (drummer Dana and guitarist Micha), Holland (vocalist Natacha), and Austria (bass player Joey Roxx). Indeed, they describe themselves as “a European Union on Zurich’s soil”, which somehow seems appropriate given fabled Swiss neutrality and the ability of Rock music to reach across national boundaries.

The other notable thing about Shezoo is that they started out as an all-girl band, and have retained a bold female ethos. Guitarist Micha is the only male in the band and seems more than comfortable with the musical company he keeps; “Shezoo is femininity and strength with a touch of masculinity,” we are told and the band certainly make a statement in that respect. Vocalist Natacha has one of the strongest, most ballsy female Rock voices I’ve ever heard. Drummer Dana is a veritable powerhouse and bassist Roxx is apparently “not stingy with her allures” (whatever that means) when onstage. They are certainly a band who appears to enjoy what they do and they are not lacking in self-belief!

Highlights include ‘Life’ for its energy, its sing-along chorus and its strong, clear bass lines. Micha’s soloing is heavy and melodic throughout, but ‘Live And Let Live’ features a particularly engaging example of his work (ditto ‘Black Tears’). ‘Remember Me’ is a decent power ballad and provides some evidence of the band’s versatility. ‘Hero’ is one of the most immediate tracks, and is notable for the keyboard/ synth dominated breakdown, a strong sense of drama and some exciting changes of pace. Drama is also the watchword for ‘Salvation’ which features further impressive bass work from Roxx.

There is a lot of European Rock about and it is, I fear, something of a congested market. Can Shezoo make it and is ‘Change’ the album that will do it for them? It’s certainly not impossible. ‘Change’ is not a groundbreaking album, but neither is it derivative. There is no particular band, for example, that Shezoo sound like. ‘Change’ is the sound of a band comfortable with itself, with its genre and confident of its abilities. That comfort and confidence transmits itself to the listener.

Michael Anthony