As far as Christian indie artists go, there are few projects that are as theologically expressive in their lyrical content as Josiah Strys’ Zambroa. He is conscious of the themes of scripture but is also quite sonically diverse in the expression of these themes.
Although he is loosely described as an indie artist, every project has been a new experience as Josiah has continued to experiment with more sounds and improve the quality of his production.
These factors made By What Standard? one of my most anticipated releases of the year and for the most part, it did not disappoint.
Right from the first track, ‘Carrot and Stick Ethic’, it’s easy to tell that this would be a unique listening experience. With an organ-like synth background, layered with lush keys, subtle guitars and a groovy bassline and kickdrum serving as a literal heartbeat; there’s a unique synergy among all the moving parts of this tune. I also have to commend the song structure as it feels like a hymn in some respects — with a lack of an identifiable chorus — having verses followed by instrumental interludes.
‘A Dove Captcha’ follows quite seamlessly opting for a more acoustic and folky feel. It’s a tune that drives the listener towards introspection both via its lyrics and the atmospheric feel of the production. Josiah is quite poetic here as he sings, “…time seems scarce, but time doesn’t care…” disguising a song that is quite hopeful with sombre tonal sensibilities.
‘Baptism (Mercy)’ is a reminder of the wonderful work of redemption that Jesus accomplished for humanity on the cross of Calvary. As the name implies, Christ’s covenant of mercy with us through His blood is the central theme here. Musically, it is a song of two distinct feels. For the most part, the verses are characterized by mellow synths and guitar pluckings but everything changes when the synth-bass joins the party. The chorus is thumping and energetic, with one of the most infectious bass progressions I’ve heard in a minute.
The title track rekindles the embers of the previous tune; a progressive indie-pop track with hip-hop undertones. As the song builds consistently to the final chorus where Josiah repeats the words, “you are the light of the world”, this song is set up to showcase the attention that Zambroa pays to details regarding his production. It’s my favourite tune on the EP for these reasons and more.
‘sigh (Anthronomy)’ ends this journey with an instrumental hip-hop tune with lo-fi elements. It also features snippets from 1 Samuel 8 where the nation of Israel demanded that Samuel should give them a king to rule over them.
From my viewpoint, this EP is loosely named after the book By What Standard? God's World...God's Rules, edited by Jared Longshore and considering the content of this book, the themes are quite similar.
On this EP, Zambroa attempts to bring the listener into an awareness of the rulership of Christ Jesus, not just from a personal perspective but from a universal perfective, highlighting His sacrifice on the cross as the primary standard upon which His victory and reign as King is based.
He also juxtaposes this with the human condition and our tendencies to reject His reign and to live our lives by our own individual standards rather than His. The snippet on the final track really drives this point home and ties this EP together perfectly.
It’s difficult for me to find any flaws with this EP and my only gripe here is that it is too short. I don’t believe in always having negatives to say about music and from my understanding of what Zambroa set out to do; he executed this to near perfection.
Tags: Indie, Experimental, Hip-Hop
That’s it for today.
Until next time.
Keep listening!