Ya-Ne-Zniyoo and I go way, way back to the
late '80s, when I reviewed local band demos for The Musician's
Exchange on Long Island. Back then I was known as "Andy
Glass" and Ya-Ne-Zniyoo was known as, well, Ya-Ne-Zniyoo.
I haven't heard them in at least 10 years (the eponymous tape
they sent me in 1998 was blank), and quite honestly, I've
forgotten what they sounded like (I'm sure I have a old cassette
lying around here somewhere, hmm, let's see...), so let's
start fresh. Their official discography begins at 1996, so
why not? Recorded on a single "beer-soaked" evening
in 2001 and completed two years later, All Is Not Lost presents
dark, ragged and arty rock that lurches from folky psychedelia
to grinding, clanging post-punk. Mission Of Burma is probably
the most useful point of comparison, excepting YNZ's occasional
forays into arena-rockism. As their name and longetivity attests,
Ya-Ne-Zniyoo is not a band to wilt in the face of commercial
obscurity, and All Is Not Lost will surely do nothing to disturb
the worldview to which they've long been accustomed.
• Jim
Santo's Demo Universe
Ya-Ne-Zniyoo is a Russian phrase that means I don't know.
A puzzling name for a puzzling band that does not fit into
any one genre. Ya-Ne-Zniyoo is Eric Schmitz on acoustic guitar
and vocals, Stephen Bailey on electric, Craig Meyer on bass
and Doug Hammond on drums and percussion. This fifteen-track
collection is self-produced and the fourth release for the
latest lineup. Like many groups, Ya-Ne-Zniyoo, which formed
in 1989, has been through a number of personnel and musical
direction changes in their history. Ya-Ne-Zniyoo's latest
CD is dark, harmonic rock with metal edges and classic rock
riffs. The band states that they play their original compositions
in a variety of forms from unplugged acoustic, to heavy electronics
to more minimalist interpretations.
All Is Not Lost utilizes the more heavy sound of a full band.
The songs are diverse with disturbing lyrics, varied tempos
and fluctuating moods. 'Razor Dog' is the opening track. It
starts off with an acoustic lead and soon bristles up to a
sharp up-tempo beat and biting, electric guitar riffs. It
is followed by 'Black Cat' with its jagged tempo and guitar
leads moving in a bunch of unexpected directions, complete
with muffled almost screeching vocals to accent the tale.
'Grizzle Bear' features a slower more lumbering tempo with
deep bass lines and more focused vocals before chasing a more
dramatic beat and guitar leads. All Is Not Lost is an eclectic
mix of music from a group of innovative players!
• Recommended Tracks: (1,2,7) - Laura Turner Lynch
for Kweevak.com
Summer '04)
If you can’t enjoy this, you’ve
got no sense of humor. Or you’re not drunk enough. I
don’t drink but I do know how to laugh. Black cats do
love their mothers, you know. Plugging away earnestly, no
doubt, in New Jersey - these folks must play the bar circuit.
If they don’t they should. Sure, there would be a fare
dose of abuse from greasy-hared unappreciative types. But
I bet the sound man would enjoy their non-offensive melodic
approach. (Even if the lyrics are at times troubling, as in
“Cop Show”) “Porn queens ... Smack, crack,
Special-K and Ex.” They’ve got issues, these folks.
I’d like to hear the electronically-peppered minimalism.
- Jonathan Ment, URBAN
RAG #37
Name means, "I don't know" in Russian.
All original creative rock. Passion and Revolution, Fast and
slow, Heavy and folk. If you like Gomez, check it out. - WV
Music Scene
No, this isn't some ex-Russian suburban band
singing about Levis and Molotov cocktails. I'm thinking the
band come from New Jersey? Well, that's where it was recorded.
I don't really know how to start to describe them, really.
Definitely metal(ish), but yet it seems to morph at times
into new territories. The bands consists of Eric Schmitz on
acoustic guitar and vocals, Stephen Bailey on electric guitar,
Craig Meyer on bass and Doug Hammond on drums. Their sound
is a kind of cross between metal and indie, if that's possible?
Tracks such as Dingo, Real Blue Leather, Skies Of Gold, and
Promoted all highlight a style and skill that is definitely
their own, and I reckon they'd be probably even better as
a live band. Strangely compelling...
- Modern
Danse A-Z Music Review Magazine #47
It's a TOTALLY cool *underground-psycho-rock*
release
Lord
Litter from Germany February, 2004
I'm hooked...Suit Of Armour and Delightful
are, well, er....DELIGHTFUL! I really like the acoustic/electric
alchemy, the backwash has hints of prog, and the vocals are
very complimentry to the muse.
Stan from Adventures
in Plasticland January, 2004
Infectious is a good description
of this CD. I don't know what it is but the tunes just take
over your brain. The first track is a good example. While
the lyrics seem off center at first, they keep popping up
in my head. I mean what the hell is "Razor dog, Razor
dog, get out of here with your sharp claws," suppose
to mean anyway. Still I find myself singing the words all
the time, much to the chagrin of my girlfriend.
I believe the secret is the catchiness of the music and how
well the lyrics become a part of the music via the sound of
the individual words. With its city-scape drum beats and snap
shot lyrics, "Cop Show" is a song that gains greater
meaning with each listen and is by far my favorite tune on
this release.
I'm hard pressed to come up with a band that has a similar
sound, which means this group gets another point for originality.
While I didn't get too much into the slower tunes, I still
feel this is a wonderful CD overall.
And for those wondering where in the hell the band got it's
name from, or what it means. All I can say is I don't know.
Mite from The
Chicken Fish Speaks Dec. 2003
It was ten years ago that I started a record
label and put out my first record, a compilation of New Jersey
bands that included a track from an avant-cool band called
YA-NE-ZNIYOO. In the time since I've put the label on "hiatus',
I've periodically checked into singer Steve Bailey's life
by checking out his website.
Bailey continues to be a DIY champion, working tirelessly
to create a scene, befriend indie bands across the country,
and share resources. And while Bailey's work has been admirable,
his own band has struggled through lineup change after lineup
change, all the while serving as an outlet for Bailey's own
considerable musical vision.
And here comes All Is Not Lost, the first Ya-Ne-Zniyoo CD
I've ever seen, with another new lineup and plenty of stellar
guitar work from my old friend Steve. On "Black Cats",
Bailey is all over his instrument, wrestling it from every
conceivable angle, ferociously forcing sounds into inconceivable
places~ Bailey's sense of how to structure a hook without
being derivative is jarring -- songs meander along and then
change course entirely at the drop of a hat. Steve just wrestles
with his guitar -- he's not coaxing it, he's not speaking
through it, he's attacking it and creating beautiful noise
in the process. Ya-Ne-Zniyoo continues to blend goth with
grunge with avant-garde, and they do it masterfully. I wish
Rich Grasso were still alive, for a million reasons but right
now because he would have loved this record. He really dug
Ya-Ne-Zniyoo and I'm thankful for this new record because
of it.
Al Crisafulli "The Quiet Corner" published in Jersey
Beat #74 Fall/Winter 2003
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