Zona by Cheem Album Review
Written by Jeff Ramella on December 5, 2018
Reviewed by Luke Winnicki
It’s hard to say what this new Cheem single sounds like. Here’s my best shot: It’s a mash-up of G-Funk Nujabes and Cap’n Jazz with a Lil Peep feature. The drums have the crisp hit of A Day to Remember mixed with the laid-back swing of J Dilla, while the guitars shift back and forth from math-y twinkles to in-the-pocket RnB. The vocal call and response sounds squeaky clean and, might I add, grooves hard. I do kind of wish the song was longer; the addition of a contrasting bridge section or maybe a beat switch could really bring a song like this to the next level.
‘Zona’ calls on the Arizona iced tea themed aesthetic of vaporwave and Yung Lean while also inhabiting a noticeably contemporary party-emo niche. The verse from ISO fits surprisingly well into the Cheem team. Even with their myriad influences they manage to create something funky fresh, retro, and a breath of fresh air for their genre, whatever genre that is.
Cheem’s new album “CheemTV” comes out on 11/2. Pre-order here: https://cheem.bandcamp.com/
Slaps/5
