Album Review: Future Memory

You know the name, and you know the sound of Zed, but did you know that here in 2024, the Christchurch icons are back with a new album? Because even though it has been 21 years, they never really stopped making music.

Since 2000 and their debut, Silencer, which was pretty much a stock standard of every Kiwi teenager’s CD collection, Zed are one of the Kiwi bands that everyone knows and loves. A guaranteed sing a long when singles like Renegade Fighter and She Glows are on the airwaves (or a Spotify playlist).

Fast forward to now and Future Memory is firmly in the ether with a different kind of swag, still full of confidence and bravado and firmly setting their place at the table once again.

With 11 tracks of pop sensibilities, but more of an indie edge, Zed are definitely in their experimental phase, or maybe they always were, and we never gave it much attention. Whatever the case may be, Future Memory is a fun, flirty and funky kind of record that may take you by surprise.

Let go everything you think you knew about Zed and their early sound because Zed has transformed into that butterfly that’s been waiting to metamorphosis for 21 years.

Tracks like Future You and Running sound like they belong at Coachella, the main stage specifically. They both have a super polished, lazy summer aesthetic and the shoe fits just right.

Further in, songs like Face The Rain have a dreamy, ethereal presence. It’s light and heavy on the indie side, but with a soft rock presence.

With no shortage of synthesizers and strong arrangements (including some beautiful acoustic arrangements on Never Be Lonely) on every track on Future Memory, there is that confidence that comes not only from seasoned musicians, but also from musicians that have paid their dues and create a strong and polished sound that ticks all the boxes in 2024. It’s not rock, neither is it pop punk, but it’s the sound of evolution, and where Zed wants to be, and that they’re here to stay.