eclectic, funky, rhythmic, melodic surrealist rock for thinking humans
zru voguesurvival of the cutest
"Fantastic performances on the whole CD, stunning guitars...
great bass playing... synth sounds that are delicious just flyin'
all about everywhere."
- Max T.
"Some of the original playful Zruishness has been recaptured in Survival of the Cutest, and fans will be happy to hear the trademark "ethnothrob" sound once again in the rhythms of these tracks."
- R.C. Barajas
All songs performed, arranged, and produced by Andrew L. Jackson & Rick Cuevas. Engineered and recorded by Rick Cuevas (assisted by Andrew L. Jackson) at Zrubutus Studio, Palo Alto, CA, USA. All songs lyrics & music by Andrew L. Jackson, except “Intro,” “Interlude,” & “No One Knows” words by Andrew L. Jackson, music by Andrew L. Jackson & Rick Cuevas.
humans cannot survive more than three hours exposed to extreme cuteness
Scientists have uncovered conclusive evidence that the origin of the universe was a Happy Accident. Natural Selection ... Improvisation ... the Survival of the Cutest. This not-to-be-missedZru Vogue CD starts with a computer-generated female voice speaking those words– and from there, it goes on to breaknew ground and revisit themes familiar to anyone familiar with Zru Vogue's earlier work.
Back in the 80’s, Zru Vogue was a post-punk, new wave, art-funk, trance-pop band with some college radio hits. After a long hiatus and many solo projects, founding Zruists Andrew L. Jackson and Rick Cuevas returned in 2004 with Zru Vogue Beautiful Again, an album of eclectic Euro-inspired pop songs written by Jackson and arranged, performed, and produced by Jackson/Cuevas. Before the dust had a chance to settle on their recording equipment, they were back at it, recording another album’s worth of Jackson’ songs. But this time they were determined to raise the bar by deepening the rhythm grooves and stretching the creativity in their arrangements even further.
Just listen to Survival of the Cutest to hear the results for yourself. There’s a darker, more tribal quality to some songs on this album that’s reminiscent of 80’s Zru Vogue tracks like “Cumulonimbus” and “Do The Zru.” But there are also the absurdist electro anthems “Iron Man” and “Japanese Schoolgirl Mapping Device,” the existential pop of "What It Means To Be," and the dream-prog-rock anthem "Falling Into Quicksand." These are well-crafted, hook-driven songs grounded in infectious rhythm and ready to take you on a strange and wonderful journey.
The CD is designed to be listened to as a whole, in song sequence.
a note about the cover lllustration
Zru Vogue teamed up with Tokyo character designer Mari-chan who gratiously contributed illustrations for the CD cover and booklet. But who or what is Mari-chan? From the Mari-chan website: "Mari-chan" is an art project that was started in 1999. After the latter half of the 1970s, the "character culture" highly developed in Japan. But why do we love characters? They are only illustrations on paper. I named myself "Magical designer Mari-chan" to research the mind of the people who are addicted to "character goods" for the sake of their healing, and I continue to make fake characters. The goal of "Mari-chan" is to spread them all over the world and bring an end to the "character culture." Profile: Mari-chan: Born 1977, in Osaka, Japan. Graduated from Kyoto City University of Arts, Department of Fine Art in 2000. Group Exhibition "Rococo-coco" (Nasic Square, Kyoto,1999), Personal Exhibition "Mari-chan and Her Friends" (Utanokoji Gallery, Kyoto, 1999), "Mari-chan and Obedient Servants" (Cafe FLYING TEAPOT, Tokyo, 2002).
songs from survival of the cutest:
Intro, Pretty Fairies On The Daisies, What It Means To Be, If Blood Was Wine, Act Like Nothing’s Wrong, Interlude, Dig Deeper, Iron Man, No One Knows, Nuthin Means Nuthin, Japanese Schoolgirl Mapping Device, Imperfect, Falling Into Quicksand.
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review of "survival of the cutest" by r.c. barajas:
As always, the best way to talk about Zru Vogue is to shut up and listen. Here are two men who transcend the endless poppy fields of cliché rock/alt/pop and emerge with a quirky beauty all their own. Zru Vogue has always been like that - just more so now. As a group, they've been knocked around some, have had their battles and their successes. And they are the better for it, like a wine reaching its prime.
Andrew Jackson and Rick Cuevas are back together and it's almost as though they never parted - except that each seems to have brought a new energy and wisdom to their combined effort. Intelligent observation makes for great art, and when two musicians like these can pool their hurts and joys, it is an awesome, even healing thing.
Their previous release, Beautiful Again, sent them headlong into this next album, like something shot out of a cannon. And if Beautiful Again was a rebirth, then Survival of the Cutest is the mature and fully formed Zru. Some of the original playful Zruishness has been recaptured in Survival of the Cutest, and fans will be happy to hear the trademark "ethnothrob" sound once again in the rhythms of these tracks.
I'm listening to Survival of the Cutest as I write - and I am having some trouble staying in this chair. That's another trait of Zru Vogue. Listening and moving - that's how to enjoy it.
The songs, written by Andrew Jackson, flow confidently from the jilted "Pretty Fairies on the Daisies" to the wary "What It Means To Be" to the wistful "ifs" in "If Blood Was Wine." The angry anthems "Act Like Nothing's Wrong" and "Dig Deeper" give way to the tragic, funny double-entendres of "Iron Man." Growling and funky, wonderfully repressed "No One Knows," leads to the absolute something of "Nuthin Means Nuthin." Then, of course, there's the unbridled - if somewhat creepy - cuteness of "Japanese Schoolgirl Mapping Device." "Imperfect" should be an official hymn for the human race.
Is it strange that the final song, "Falling into Quicksand," the farewell track which is about falling, fading, fraying, floating away - also seems to me like a great make-out song? Zru Vogue does that: they suggest that even life's dark twists can be full of brilliant excursions.
Zru Vogue's Survival of the Cutest is an honest gemstone in the current sea of polymer pop mediocrity. Die-hard fans will rejoice at this new release, and new comers will get a chance to experience one of Zru Vogue's finest.
review of "survival of the cutest" by trev faull:
The wacky, hypnotic world of Zru Vogue, the Penn & Tellers of the music biz, will have you rigid on your seat for 40 minutes whilst longtime poet Andrew Jackson sing-talks his way through some interesting stories set to music with much help from Rick Cuevas.
A funky groove surrounds “Pretty Fairies” with deliciously creamy bass notes and an overall hypnotic caramel flavour. The second track resembles a Kraftwerk-like backing to Andrew’s distinctive vocals and word-play projecting the song upwards. “If Blood Was Wine” (a play on Hendrix's “If Six Was Nine”?) is a love story with an unusual lyric and snappy arrangement. The track rises above most of the others and proves to be a real standout piece.
Next we have a Middle Eastern twirl of hot sand that buries the listener in more hypontic spirals and lasts a full five minutes. After a second 'interlude' from Professor Hawking (on speed it seems), “Dig Deeper” has the rock stance of an angry brontosaurus but the whispered, Dylan-ish vocals (reminding me of Everything Is Broken) rests over a ponderous drum machine.
By contrast “Iron Man” is pure play on words and a real cheeky chappie. “Iron Man wears ironed pants,” sings Andrew and with its bushy keyboard approach is both vibrant yet teasing. “No One Knows” has a long intro where the voice interacts with the rhythm of the song perfectly. “Nuthin” is the token bad boys rock song more tap than spinal but then it truly is about nothing! “Japanese Schoolgirl Mapping Device” arrives suitably dressed in oriental schoolgirl uniforms with the most simple of keyboard riffs and you wonder what this is all about, what can be in the San Francisco drinking water? More sinister is the “Imperfect” song that follows.
The dramatic finale “Falling Into Quicksand” again is a feast of words that wouldn’t be out of place at the end of Sergeant Pepper (really) — it's the best track on a consistently good album that stands out from the pack. Penn & Teller would approve I am sure.
beautiful again