We bid farewell to Zibra as the electro pop trio pack away their synths for the final time. The Social hosted the band’s last ever headline show before Sam, Russ and Ben parted ways and they made sure they went out with a flourish.
The bands electro-infused punk pop first caught my attention last summer and ever since I’ve been hooked. Zibra is a band that’s tricky to compartmentalise and to be honest no one should want to. When I heard about the band’s imminent split I refused to believe it because a world without Zibra is like a world without cat gifs or dogs on the tube: They make the drudgery of everyday life so much more bearable and sprinkle a little bit of excitement onto your day!
Chlorine is the track that first introduced me to the band and it’s a stomping track that combines synths, a heavy bassline and soaring vocals. As predicted it went down a storm at The Social, with the crowd singing along and jumping to the beat.
Heartache, another favourite begins with a much slower pace but soon snaps into an electro-influenced anthem. The band combines the heavier electronic and synth elements with moments of a more chilled sound before the beat drops again.
Paris, a catchy track about the emptiness of city life, has a chorus punctuated by the band’s signature synths. Flats in Dagenham follows along a similar vein, with a slight 80s synth-pop feel combined with atmospheric guitar solos and multi-layered synths with a quirky, bubbling, cartoon-like sound.
Another fan fave, Wasted Days, has a more polished sound and is one of Zibra’s poppiest and most radio-friendly tracks. The crowd was singing and dancing along, drinks in hand, completely oblivious to the fact that tomorrow was Thursday and another working day!
They played us out with their most recent track, the poignantly titled R.I.P. (Rest in Peace). The band shared this track on social media just after they announced their split and there’s no getting away from the reality of what this track represents. Zibra are at their peak here and sound like they’ve hit their stride, making their departure from the musical world the more sadder.
They certainly didn’t sound so polished in a live setting and I felt that the synths didn’t feature so prominently but that just added to the raw, underground feel of the night. Zibra have been on my list of bands to see live virtually since I discovered them and I’m intrigued to see what musical direction the trio take in the future.
If you’re new to Zibra or just want to reminisce check out their website here where you can view their videos (all endearingly basic and with a retro vibe and copious computer graphic overlays!). Also, check out Zibra’s farewell track R.IP. (Rest in Peace) below.