Call it melancholic minimalism, noir pop, or something along those lines. In any case, Zulu Winter, the five-piece from Oxfordshire, England, creates a sort of dreamland ambiance informed by a cache of muses from T.S. Eliot to Moog progenitor Dick Hyman to Roman Polanski films. Let’s Get Back to Front carries an effervescent dance beat shaped by airy rhythms and flourishes of electronica while Never Leave gives off a flicker of Duran Duran cloaked in a pharmaceutical haze. But despite all of the elegant soundscapes and erudite (or, er, pretentious) references, it’s a moody pop package that tends to leave something to be desired.

(Source: uptownmag.com)