aaamusic | On 14, Jan 2011

Zoey Van Goey are Matt Brennan, Michael John McCarthy, Kim Moore and Adam Scott. Brennan, McCarthy and Moore, hailing from Canada, Ireland and England respectively, formed the initial trio in Glasgow in 2006, with Scott becoming a fully-fledged member in 2010.

In 2009, they self-released their debut album The Cage Was Unlocked All Along securing fans at radio such as 6 Music’s Marc Riley & Gideon Coe and more recently some unlikely airplay from none other than Lou Reed on his NY Shuffle show. The release also stirred up a flurry of press adoration: “pop that comfortably resists pigeonholing” (The Big Issue), “our new favourite band” (MusicOMH), “irresistible pop thrills… definitely one of Scotland’s finest at the moment” (Sunday Mail) to quote just a few.

Zoey Van Goey kicked off 2010 by impressing the ever-discerning Chemikal Underground faithful as the label’s newest signing at its 15th anniversary bash. As the year ended they found themselves headlining centre stage at the Belle & Sebastian-curated ‘Bowlie 2’ All Tomorrow’s Parties festival. And in between they tested out new material at a series of Difficult Second Album Syndrome research gigs in Glasgow.

The title of the resulting long-player, Propeller Versus Wings, has been inspired by Powell & Pressburger’s magnificent A Matter of Life & Death, a film with which it shares a sense of romance and adventure. Perhaps emboldened by the addition of the multi-talented Scott (as well as the results of their research), this collection of songs sees Zoey Van Goey displaying a newfound musical confidence, borrowing freely from disparate styles whilst still sounding like themselves, in a fashion not dissimilar to heroes such as Yo La Tengo and The Magnetic Fields.

Thus Propeller Versus Wings swings from the slow burn of opener ‘Mountain on Fire’ which overflows with a heart-wrenchingly gentle tenderness that many bands aspire to but very few pull off, to the evocative period jazz of ‘My Aviator’; from the Spektor-esque piano balladry of ‘Escape Maps’ to the bubblegum-punk revenge-of-the-nerds tale that comprises ‘Robot Tyrannosaur’.

Layered under the genre-hopping magpie tendencies and full-blooded sing-along choruses are a set of lyrics invested with both humour and humanity. Themes of flight, friendship and departure are to be found in almost every song. For example the touching portrayal of awkward teenage camaraderie in ‘Sackville Sun’; Or first single ‘The Cake & Eating It’, which sets the story of duelling, romantically-entangled comic book superheroes to an XTC-influenced jangle and Dirty Projectors-inspired vocal harmonies.

Propeller Versus Wings comes packaged in specially commissioned artwork by Glasgow-based artist Ursula Cheng, including a 9 panel fold-out illustration. Equal parts Quentin Blake, Jamie Hewlett, Jimmy Corrigan and Hayao Miyazaki it is the work of a kindred creative spirit, bent on making strange the stuff of everyday life in order to fashion a looking glass through which the mundane becomes something more magical.

Zoey Van Goey release Propeller versus Wings on Monday 29th February on LP, CD & Digital (CHEM149/CHEM149CD/CHEM149D). The album is preceded with the digital single ‘The Cake and Eating It’ out on Monday 14th February 2011 and presently available as a FREE DOWNLOAD from http://www.chemikal.co.uk/zvg050111.htm. Both available on Chemikal Underground Records.

Zoey Van Goey launch Propeller Versus Wings at the Classic Grand in Glasgow on Sat Feb 5th with exclusive pre-release copies of the album on sale. Further UK & European tour dates to be announced.

www.myspace.com/zoeyvangoey