Thursday, September 8, 2011

Zombie Music: Aaron Stoquert

I've featured many zombie songs on my blog, but I've never encountered zombie music quite like this. Aaron Stoquert released on EP called Run for Your Life. The 5 songs are about zombies and, unlike many zombie songs out there, are told from the undead perspective. Many zombie songs are either super heavy metal/scream-o (which I don't enjoy at all) or light and comical, like Voltaire and Laura Shigihara. Aaron Stoquert's music is rooted in folk and has a country undercurrent. His dark and haunting voice and his acoustic guitar create the perfect mood and feeling. The sparse arrangement is minimalistic and brings to mind a barren landscape dotted by smatterings of zombies. The music is emotional and serious without being overdramatic. The music is masterfully written and performed.

The subject matter is more serious and articulates the feelings and thoughts that zombies have but aren't able to express. This is a level of zombie emotion that isn't explored very often. Beyond this EP, I would say Isaac Marion's Warm Bodies is the only other work that comes to mind that does this really well. This EP is available on his Bandcamp and you can either name your price or download it for free. I would recommend donating some money because I would love to hear a full length album from Aaron whether it's about zombies or not.

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