Zs sounds like a high-speed collision between a classical chamber ensemble and a scrap metal yard. Their music is built on a foundation of extreme discipline, where every screech of the saxophone and every jagged guitar line is placed with surgical precision. It is loud, abrasive, and frequently overwhelming, yet it possesses a strange, hypnotic clarity that emerges from its repetitive, interlocking rhythms.
What truly distinguishes Zs is their commitment to physical and mental endurance. They take the repetitive structures of minimalism and strip away the prettiness, replacing it with the raw energy of no wave and the technical complexity of math rock. The interplay between Sam Hillmer’s 'sax ranting' and Greg Fox’s superhuman drumming creates a sound that feels both ancient and futuristic, like a ritual performed by machines.
Newcomers should dive into 'Xe' to experience their most refined, quartet-based power, or 'Arms' for a look at their earlier, more sprawling avant-garde roots. This is music for the moment when you want to stop feeling comfortable and start feeling truly awake.
Zs (pronounced ) is a Brooklyn, New York-based experimental band. Since the band's inception, Zs has incarnated as everything from a sextet to a duo, now solidified into the quartet of Patrick Higgins (electric guitar), Greg Fox (percussion), Sam Hillmer (tenor saxophone) and Michael Beharie (electronics). While Zs' music has been variously categorized as no wave, noise, post-minimalist, drone, and psych, it is primarily concerned with making music that challenges the physical and mental limitations of both performer and listener. The band has been heralded by The New York Times as "one of the strongest avant-garde bands in New York."
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