Zebrabook - Minstrel Of Hate

Hear The Track Here

I don't think anyone in their right mind could say that Jon Bushaway's (aka Zebrabook) music was easy or accessible. When I reviewed It's Only Rock and Roll (April 2008) I recieved a couple of such comments about my review even though I stressed that it was a) very strange and b) hugely long. I have known this artist for a good many years and I know just how capable he is a musician, and I grew used to his macabre style. Other artists describe themselves as dark but Jon Bushaway goes several leagues further than that.

Not, obviously, for the faint of heart.

Mind you, in comparison to some of the material he was coming out with when he was part of The Dead Company makes this latest work quite tame by contrast. Not for you, of course. Only for us with a bit more experience of all things Bushaway. To you Minstrel of Hate will sound somewhat like the massed Horde Of Apes banging on every single thing that can find while shrieking with rage at the brutality of the world.

Or something like that.

Obviously you can't, in this context, use the word 'like' but I do find a lot of this artists works intriguing, and always unexpected. Minstrel of Hate could very well be the best kind of crash course into this artist who, to be honest, you are either going to love or hate. I use the word 'crash' in the literal sense because that is exactly what it sounds like, but knowing Jon Bushaway that is what it is supposed to sound like. As I say, love it or loathe it, I am willing to bet you can't ignore it. Exceedingly strange (but effective) experimental electronica.

Recommended for a quick ear syringe.