- As Vice Magazine detailed earlier this year, Jeremy Rose is, in a more perfect world, absolutely huge right now: the supposed mastermind of The Weeknd, Rose left the group just as they were poised to get love from the likes of the New York Times. And in the messy aftermath of the split, he didn't get any credit for his work on their first album, House of Balloons.
His first big step out since the Weeknd, an eponymous EP under his Zodiac moniker for Jacques Greene's Vase label, doesn't have anything quite as perfect as House of Balloons highlight "What You Need." But Zodiac's lone vocal cut gets close: hazily impressionistic, with reversed ambience and dirge-like percussion swirling around Jesse Boykins III's buttery voice, "Come" is gorgeously intimate. The remainder of the EP, a veritable beat tape, is rife with lovely production as well. "So Soon We Change" might be the best thing he's produced yet, with tightly wound Rhodes chords and dreamy guitars ping-ponging between mile-wide claps that build to kaleidoscopic moments of clarity. The easy-riding "Girlgirlgirl," centered around a cinematic string sample and pitchy, mangled vocals takes a more laidback approach to the sound. Coming in off the woozy ambience of "Loss Config.," the more minimalist and synthy "138" takes aim at the club. But Zodiac is best when he's at his dreamiest, his carefree beats seemingly devoid of the drama that landed their creator here.
TracklistA1 GirlGirlGirl
A2 Come feat. Jesse Boykins III
B1 So Soon We Change
B2 Loss Config.
B3 138