Suchmos -- In The Zoo

 

A few years ago, I came across the band Suchmos, a group that was delving into some groovy R&B along with rock and jazz. It was the soul, though, which I was attracted by, and I was able to cover a few of their songs including "STAY TUNE" from January 2016. Therefore, it was a pity to hear that Suchmos decided to take an indefinite hiatus early in 2021 and then came the news last October that bassist HSU had passed away at the age of 32.

In March 2019, Suchmos released their 12-inch single "In The Zoo / Pacific Blues" and I want to focus on that first song "In The Zoo". Written by vocalist YONCE and composed by the band, the song is very different from what I've heard of the band thus far which was more in that groovy soul vein. But this time, though, "In The Zoo", is a haunting rock ballad about humanity's existential crisis with the hint that people are no more than animals with a credit card and a mortgage. We're all just rustling around in this huge globular zoo going through the motions.

The melody is a downbeat and slowly marching one as if to describe the average person plodding mindlessly away. It almost has an avant-rockabilly feeling that another band, Ego-Wrappin', has also tackled aside from its jazz. And YONCE sings those lyrics mournfully away like the seen-it-all, felt-it-all balladeer watching society becoming increasingly grayer over time. "In The Zoo" is also a track on Suchmos' 3rd and final album to date, "The Anymal" which was released about a week after the single.