The Zippo Moment - "The Zippo Moment" (Siren Lure)

Album review by Danny Alexander

When someone sings with a stentorian voice like Jon Freeman's, he better mean what he says. And that's the great thing about the Zippo Moment, as Freeman sings on "Greenlight Surprise," "I'm way too damn sincere." Anyone who identifies with that line knows its curse, and it's all over this album--from the extremely vulnerable "Knee Deep" to the visionary and tortured "All Over."

But the curse of sincerity is a blessing for listeners, particularly when everything comes together like it does on "My Friend." The one song penned by drummer Alex Harris ups the ante on this band's earnest, heartfelt approach. When Freeman sings, "I know I'd long since slip the surface if not for a friend to guide me back again," he is fingering the lie of radical individualism. Unlike the hard rock style of the rest of this cd, "My Friend," emphasizes acoustic arpeggio, a gentle rhythm and a beautiful guitar solo, as tender as it is brave.

But then *The Zippo Moment* is a brave band. Guitarist Brian Dehner plays exuberant, fast power chords that, at any given moment, may break into a lead as soft as a ripple of water or lightning-like in its explosivenes. Freeman's songs tackle everything from the smallest human moments to the greatest movements toward inhumanity. Just about everything about this band is promising . . . well, except for the name.

--Danny Alexander