I’m insanely proud and incredibly eager to present to you Zookeeper. this is a life-changing band that just reeks of joy. Zookeeper makes music fun like no other band. this is Christopher Simpson proving that he hasn’t lost his touch. on the contrary. most of you will know this bloke from Mineral and The Gloria Record, two bands I love equally as much as Zookeeper. if you don’t know either of those (shame on you), then go get to know them. when people ask “what is emo?”, a lot of people will simply direct them to an MP3 of “If I Could” by Mineral. and with good reason. with the unfathomable power and distinct divine weeping guitars, Mineral was simply one of a kind. though never really influenced by as much 80s emo as 80s alternative, nor ever accepting the emo tag – they were emo to everyone else but themselves. The Gloria Record was another highly impressing emo band, although less punky and more exploring. their full lenght “Start Here” proved that emo is an ever changing genre that by now wasn’t tied to any of its roots – it did as it pleased. so definitely check those bands out if you ever have the chance. but for now – check this out. this band captures the most positive energy on record that I’ve ever witnessed. it is simply impossible to listen to this and be unaffected by the incredible love for music that’s put to this EP. this has a lot in common with Mineral and The Gloria Record when it comes to passion and the raw emotion evident. musically however… well… it’s not emo. Chris still possesses his beautiful fairly off-tune voice that’s kind of akin to Rufus Wainwright’s voice, and even easier compared to Daniel Johnston’s voice, sans the lisping. there’s still an ethereal feeling and majestic power to the music. it’s just really different. this is grass root level folk rock with a ridiculous amount of elements and details in the arrangement. it kind of sounds like Chris got all of Austin – if not all of Texas. to join in on this project. either way, I’m just happy he kept writing songs after The Gloria Record broke up. and I’m even happier he decided to call up some friends to record it, because the world is better off with these songs in them. everyone needs to download and listen to this. then they need to head over to http://www.bellecitypop.com/ and purchase it on CD, because damn. this is amazing. with elements of folk rock, country, rock and pop – Chris Simpson not only reinvents himself, he reinvents music by going back. so come on and sing along to these wonderful melodies and intelligent lyrics. get it!