Zilch – Drought – single Review

Struggling to get out of bed in a morning, as the days, hours and minutes all merge into one during lockdown. Well grab some headphones, and turn up the volume, and let Zilch wake you up with their new single. “Drought”. A sparring intro between drums and guitar will get you ready to face the day, as the 3 piece grunge/punk band from Worcester bring a sound that will make you wanna get up and seize the day ahead. Made up of Thom on vocals and guitar, Cal on Bass, and Crag on drums, this melodic trio draw influences from the likes of Nirvana, QOTSA, Sex Pistols and more. Thom had written the basis of Drought for a previous band, but as it was never worked on, Zilch took it on, worked on the idea and turned it into the shiny finished article it is today. It’s set to be on the bands first EP, which has unfortunately been delayed for release due to Covid 19. Although the intro is a loud wake up call, this song is an easy to listen to track, which flows comfortably from the softer verses into the more powerful choruses. A work of instrumental genius happens just past the mid way section of the song, where the band expertly draws you in a quiet tempo, before exploding into a full showcase of instruments, which will leave you wondering how this band only has three members. The sound they at firing out sounds like a much bigger production than three. Pure brilliance. My interpretation of the lyrics is that it’s an exasperating battle to win the affections of someone who has just given up or is not interested, a proverbial river that has run dry. Hard to believe that this finely accomplished stab at the world of music is one of the first songs written to completion by this band.