ZOAHR – Apraxia
Release Date: December 10, 2022
Label: Independent
Format: Album | CD/Digital
Duration: 49:38 | 9 tracks
Genre: Heavy Rock / Blues Rock
Origin: Pirmasens, Germany
Down-to-Earthness the Heavy Way
ZOAHR are a trio from Pirmasens, a once vibrant industrial town in German federal state Rhineland-Palatinate. Thorsten (bass), Philipp (drums) and Jessie (guitar and vocals) have founded the band in 2017, and they released their first demo only a year later. The three musicians‘ mission to produce honest and down-to-earth rock music in the vein of the 1970s lead them to their next station which was the release of a full-length album. The independent release „Off Axis“ was published in 2018 on vinyl and on bandcamp for streaming. ZOAHR’s longplayer debut deservedly received positive feedback, and it featured an artwork by the amazing Timur Khabirov.
Out of the Desert
Three years have passed since then, and the world as we know it is not the same as it was in 2019. Some things have changed though, and that includes the honest D.I.Y. attitude by Thorsten, Philipp and Jessie. Their second album „Apraxia“ is here to give us some warmth in the cold times of autumn and winter. Like the debut, „Apraxia“ was also recorded in live sessions at RAMA Tonstudio in Mannheim by Tobias Schwarz. Furthermore, ZOAHR have once again released their longplayer independently, and they have refused to make deals with bloodsuckers like Spotify.
Yet, there have been changes. Behind a stunning artwork by Steven Yoyada, nine new tracks tell of meritocracy, of pressure and classism, of intolerance, isolation and depression. Although not a concept album per se, „Apraxia“ is dedicated to those who fall through the cracks of meritocratic mechanisms and who have to find their safe space elsewhere. ZOAHR thus play a musical appreciation to those people and spheres where these misfits find peace.
United we roll
Music-wise, thoe sound of ZOAHR has gone through some development as well. Predominantly, the impact of Stoner and Desert Rock has decreased, and instead ZOAHR enchant our hearing with even more Heavy Blues Rock and massive but psychedelic soundscapes. One may think of acts like VUG or The Dues concerning the Heavy Rock sound. Nevertheless, ZOAHR sound like ZOAHR. This is legit handmade Heavy Psych for the honest ones.
7/10 Mangoes
