LA powerviolence/hardcore ensemble Zulu haven’t been around for a long time, but if there’s one thing we know for sure about the band, they aren’t here to fuck around.
This week, Zulu returned to the fold with yet another skull-crushing slammer in the form of ‘Where I’m From’, this time flexing some of the big names pulled into their orbit including Soul Glo, Playytime and the star of The Eric Andre Show, madman himself Eric Andre.
The track is the next warning shot fired off the group’s incoming full-length record, A New Tomorrow, out Friday 3rd March. A New Tomorrow is the intensely awaited follow-up to 2020’s brutally perfect My People…Hold On EP, and marks the group’s first official full-length.
‘Where I’m From’ is breathless, relentless and unforgiving – a diamond being made by crushing external pressures right before our eyes. A mean bass line runs through like an artery, providing the nutrients for a thrashing groove and a guitar riff that’s staggered and brutal, culminating in less than 3 minutes of utter sonic ground-and-pound.
But Zulu isn’t, and never has been, a mindless beat-down. Considerable heart and soul shines through the chaos – reveries and winks of a greater influence. Created in no rush, A New Tomorrow gave Zulu plenty of time to breathe their way through the process and fall down creative rabbit holes, returning to the surface with fists full of everything from reggae to death metal. Zulu are joined on the track by Soul Glo’s Pierce Jordan and Obioma Ugonna from Playytime; a strong indicator that these aren’t merely just bands, but parts of a movement, something that makes the anthems they produce all the more threatening.
Directed by Dez Yusuf, the clip for ‘Where I’m From’ truly highlights the pull power of not just Zulu, but hard music with hard messages, with some serious involvement from Eric Andre simply losing it. With a loaded new album on the way, and a list of North American tour dates that will leave you out of breath just scrolling through them, 2023 is Zulu’s for the taking, and we suggest finding some good seats to witness it happen.
