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Zoo Animal performs in The Current studio

Holly Newsom of Zoo Animal performs in The Current studio.
Holly Newsom of Zoo Animal performs in The Current studio.MPR Photo / Nate Ryan
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by Zoo Animal

February 12, 2012

Holly Newsom describes Zoo Animal's new Departure EP as more observational than philosophical, and it's easy to discern how different the band is today compared to a year ago, fully cognizant of major changes which have altered the act's path. The title of the EP is blunt upon deeper inspection: Zoo Animal has dealt with the departure of two members, the addition of two rotating casts of local musicians, and a further departure in sound that Newsom has taken her songs which now find themselves steeped in beautiful minimalism.

Through all of this, Newsom has released a collection of complex and sentimental recordings, without a doubt the most fully-realized and mature compositions of her career. And yet her band is still supremely underrated, perhaps the result of a front-woman not so concerned with the limelight, but instead committed to investigating her thoughts and relaying them in the most personal way possible.

Songs performed: "Laying and Lying," "Out In The Ocean," and "Black and Charred."