Review: Zoanoids – “Effigy”

Hey Pizza! Records, 14 Apr 2022

Effigy is the latest evidence that Zoanoids are at the top of the powerhouse pop punk heap.

Michigan’s Zoanoids burst onto my radar a couple years back with the fantastic single “Biollante’s Revenge”.  That one ended up joining forces with a slew of great songs on 2020’s self-titled effort.  Pop punk romps like “Teenage Werewolf” and “She’s Not A Deep One” did battle with rampaging numbers like “Arms of Ahriman”, singalongs like “Innsmouth”, and a wild mad dash instrumental called “Dos Fuentes!”.  All-in-all a stellar effort, Zoanoids ended up near the top of my favorite albums from the year and set a high bar.  Now returning with Effigy, Zoanoids are back and with a vengeance.

Zoanoids exist in the Ramonescore universe, often getting lumped in with the pop punk crowd as several of the Hey Pizza! Records crowd tend to.  And yea, I get that type of branding.  But I think a better term might be something like powerhouse pop punk.  The songs Zoanoids kick out have melody, hooks, and some of my favorite lead guitar.  But they also flex their muscle.  There’s nothing soft about the band and there’s no chance that someone could hear a song like the straight-forward blasting “Rats in the Walls” and miss out on the electric power behind the brawny guitars, the rattling bass, and the pummeling drums.  And on song after song, the vocals are controlled and verge on stoic, but they also sound world-weary and ominous, belting out conspiracy-filled words.  

Notably, it’s difficult for me to pick favorites on Effigy.  I must’ve listened to the entire album 20 or 30 times now and I never find myself skipping past songs.  Maybe even more significant, I find myself humming melodies all the time after listening, but oftentimes it’s a different song I’m humming than after the listen before.  The raging skatepunk of “The Order of Three Chords” and it’s oddly calm and steadfast vocal phrasings got my attention the first couple times through.  The guitar riff hooks on “Disintegrate” are positively fantastic and the deliberate stomp behind the “grow-up” number “Irrationality” has a singalong melody that drives me nuts in the best way.  Same goes for the irresistible pop bona fides of “Tres Dios” and “Midnight Channel”.  And there’s no letdown as the album goes on with latecomers like the sing-to-the-skies chorus of “10,000 Young” and the down-to-hell melody of “Dead By Daylight” each doing their thing so well.  “E.M.P.” and its eerie lead guitar comes across like a stellar Stella Sapiente-era Lillingtons song.  Then there’s the violent nihilism of “Cenobites”, which destroys all in its path two songs from the end.  It’s simply a brutal, chaotic din done well.  And it’s astounding how well the band balances no-nonsense power and incredibly memorable melodies and hooks on song after marvelous song.

Zoanoids are absolutely the real deal and Effigy is the proof.  It’s loaded with heavy riffs, deadly leads, and hooks that won’t get outta my head.  Fans of Ramones, Lillingtons, and the like will go nuts when they hear this, so do yourself a favor and find this album right now and then tell me I’m right later.

Favorite song: “Tres Rios” at the moment

Favorite moment: the through-a-megaphone vocal bark on “Cenobites” does the trick

Favorite whatever else: the slowed and deliberate stomp on “Irrationality” hits me in a surprising way