More than any band to debut in recent memory, Zilch has quite a bit of seasoning behind it. As anyone who caught dc Talk's last tour knows, the work of Jason Halbert, Mark Townsend, and Otto "Sugar Bear" Price helped give that group a modern rock edge. But to dismiss Zilch simply because they're backing musicians to "a giant pop group" would be a mistake. With a modern power pop vibe similar to All Star United, Zilch may lack All Star's lyrical innovation, but they do deliver some zingers. "In the Sky" gives clever responses to Joan Osborne's "One of Us" and Dishwalla's "Counting Blue Cars" respectively: She asked if God was just a slob (like us). Maybe something there is lacking, and Let me tell you all my thoughts (on God, 'cause I just met with Him this morning). In "Christiana," Price's trance-like voice warns the believer not to become too comfortable in the church pew. "Bap!" stresses the importance of being a true friend, while "Hero Zero" is a wacky cover of the School House Rock track. Townsend's guitars and Halbert's keyboards take turns out front with neither overpowering the other or the fine bass work of Price, while a horn section spices up several of these way-catchy arrangements. Whether this project ever reaches platinum status or not remains to be seen. In the meantime, Zilch should begin to make a name for itself, outside the enormous shadow of that other band.
Other coverage for this album
The Lighthouse December 1997Reviewed by Bert GanglThe fact that Zilch members Mark Townsend (guitars), Jason Halbert (keyboards) and Otto Price (bass) are a part of dc Talk's touring band has undoubtedly created a fair amount of curiosity over their debut release, Platinum. And one might reasonably assume that the music on the band's side project would sound at least somewhat similar to the newfound modern rock sound of their parent band. This…Similar sounding releases
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