Album Review: TZU - Millions Of Moments

TZU's new record, Millions Of Moments, pushes the envelope of Australian hip hop with its incredibly complex textures and variety and depth of lyrical content. It is refreshing in that it is properly unique while still standing firmly within its genre.

The record opens with The Beginning Of The End, which, with its suspenseful slow beat and steady emotive vocals, is a captivating introduction to the album. Criminals And Murderers, in comparison, makes clear the diversity of sound and feeling this group is capable of. It's upbeat, with a fast-paced electronic drop and rhythmic vocals, and as a result is particularly catchy. The tone of the album changes again with Won't Let Go, which is comparatively calm and steady, with understated vocals but insightful lyrics. The record provides more depth still with Beautiful, which opens with a melancholic string melody and equally melancholic vocal tones, the combination of which creates a wonderfully smooth texture.

The group's dexterity does fall somewhat short, however, in Nowhere Home, which is far simpler than the other tracks on the album and is less effective as a result. The group's capacity for incredibly steady, heavy beats returns in The People, whose soft vocals allow this infectious rhythm to take centre stage. The highlight of the record, and also its namesake, is Millions Of Moments. It is a high-impact, catchy track with a powerful beat and complex verses and is thus the clear standout of the record. The album closes with The Window, whose long, steady intro and slow, captivating vocals and development into a catchy, heavy beat make it a perfect choice of closer. This record is wonderfully constructed and tells a cohesive story, and is thus satisfying in every sense of the term.