Zonian Girls… And the Echoes That Surround Us All

In what they've dubbed a "transcontinental recording affair," Athens (and now Barcelona) indie combo King of Prussia presents Zonian Girls... And the Echoes That Surround Us All, an ambitious double album that features two different lineups along with a bevy of guests. Splitting his time between Spain and the quirky pop playground of Athens, Georgia, band mastermind Brandon Hanick had previously experimented with using two auxiliary lineups on the band's 2012 release, Transmissions from the Grand Stand, but it wasn't until the following year that the multitude of his Euro-American collaborations would be fully realized on one massive 20-song effort. In an interesting twist, the album's two distinct sections are split evenly between the Zonian Girls portion, ten sunny pop songs full of warm psych tones and power pop jangle, and the Echoes portion, which contains a related, darker-themed "cousin" song for each of the Zonian tracks. Dividing these light and dark sides of town is a tripped-out, spoken word dream-sequence track called "Old Masks," which includes references to ice cream trucks, chemistry labs, and Athens weirdo orchestra Dark Meat. It's a charming mix of songs echoing the D.I.Y. grandeur of Elephant 6's heyday and the classic college rock for which the Athens scene is renowned. Not surprisingly, some of the guest spots include members of Elf Power, the B-52s, and R.E.M. Upbeat pop tracks like "Your Work Is Magic" and "Every Girl" show off Hanick's knack for a great melody, while more contemplative tracks like "From the Vine" and the country-tinged "The Sun Will Never Rise" show his range as a writer. At 20 songs, Zonian Girls doesn't necessarily hit it out of the park every time, but as a whole, there is plenty to like here and the lofty scope of the entire project is impressive.