Reverseration
- Boaz Goldberg
- Apr 9
- 4 min read
Updated: May 4
Six years after "Headless Elvis", ZICO returns with a second LP, "Reverse Reverbe". How do you create an eclectic album whose beginning doesn't even hint at what's next, let alone its ending? From intimate Acoustic Indie to Dark Noise, Stoner Rock Grunge and Ambient Industrial, here are six points about the album's six tracks
By Boaz Goldberg
1. Not Anemoia
Like I did on my previous album, “Headless Elvis”, I wanted one real song that I would sing in my own voice. That's how this song was born, which deals with my obsession with things from the past while also somewhat despising the current addiction of Generation Z (and not only them) to fake nostalgia. After an opening song like that, it's easy to be surprised by the following Dark Ambient-Noise tracks, isn't it?
Track 1 engineered in 2026 by Boaz Goldberg
2. Yearning
An almost forgotten piece of a cassette recording with my little sister's voice from the electronic answering machine of my family home somewhere in the 1990s leads to a loop-oriented transcendental Ambient Noise. This piece, minus the new opening, was originally called "Kobi Wake Up". It's my contemporary addition to the album I released for the long gone duo of Kobi Or and me, NEMEK. While I was working on it, I knew I would use it for my next album as well - just so it wouldn't fall through the cracks.
Track 2 engineered in 2025 by Boaz Goldberg; Bass Guitar engineered by Sagi Barnes. Original Guitar loop recorded in 2010, Korg synths recorded in 2017. Track reworked in 2026
3. Ode to Sean Derrick Cooper Marquardt
What would have happened if Len Boukhman had been a little late even more or had simply skipped the session we scheduled in early November 2008? It was just a few days after I returned from a misty vacation in Berlin, where I saw several noise gigs that blew me away. One of them was by noise artist and master of "Accidental Guitar" Sean Derrick Cooper Marquardt, and this piece was completely built with his magical spirit echoing every second of it. Len and I originally called it "P.R." and it came out under our little duo called Nail and Flashlights. Thanks to AI technology, I removed Len's vocals and time-traveled to before she knocked on the Ambience Studios door. At the same time, I added a few elements that weren't in the original recording.
Track 3 engineered in 2008 by Dar Nahmias; Produced by Dar Nahmias and Boaz Goldberg. Korg synths, Wind Chimes, Thunder Tube & Percussion recorded in 2017. Track reworked in 2026
4. Craving
This track was originally called "Kobi Wake Up 2" and as in the case of “Yearning”, while I was working on it I knew I would use it for my next album as well - just so it wouldn't fall through the cracks.
Track 4 engineered in 2025 by Boaz Goldberg; Bass Guitar engineered by Sagi Barnes. Original Guitar loop recorded in 2010, Korg synths recorded in 2017. Track reworked in 2026
5. Gold Chops
Those who know my "Headless Elvis" will recognize the melody and chord progression from the opening track, “Gabi My Friend”. Part of the track was also incorporated into my documentary film about Charlie Megira, “Tomorrow’s Gone”. However, "Gold Chops" sounds very different for several reasons. A. The sound comes from the guitar amp only and without a softening direct channel. The result is a real raw treat, very Vilde Chaye. B. This is the entire track, without edits or any kind of additions, twists & turns from the Korg synth. Since it was engineered by Sagi Barnes in 2017, I don’t think I’ve ever heard this track like this. I think we immediately edited it, and some would say - castrated it. In short, the moment I discovered this lost gold treasure, it was clear to me that it was worth pulling it from the depths of the well into the light.
Track 5 engineered in 2017 by Sagi Barnes. Track reshaped & reworked in 2026
6. Ocean Beach
Ocean Beach, San Diego. One of the most beautiful and magical places on earth. I lived there for a year when I was 12 years old. I haven’t been there since the early 1990s and I find myself full of yearning for that faraway atmosphere. This is my little homage - Classical guitar, nonchalant humming, a touch of percussion, and a crashing ocean wave.
Track 6 engineered in 2026 by Boaz Goldberg
7. Marenight
This track is also based on a track from "Headless Elvis". It was called "Dear Narcoza 2" and I was always upset that on my debut album I shortened it and didn't let it develop and go wild. I felt like I hadn't exhausted its potential. In this new version, the piece is almost unrecognizable. It's about six times longer, and it develops into a dark rampage at the peak of which I’m maneuvering between nine different channels. Towards the end of the track, I play an electric guitar loop that seems to emerge from another world. A ghostly figure peeks through a thick blanket of fog. The name chosen for the title, "Marenight," encompasses several alternative ideas that could’ve been suitable as well, such as "Launch Nights" and "Ballistic Missiles from Iran". I chose an option that everyone can identify with. A reverse nightmare, with lotsa Reverse Reverbe...
Track 7 engineered in 2017 by Sagi Barnes. Track reshaped & reworked in 2026
All tracks written, composed and performed by ZICO (Boaz Goldberg): Vocals, Electric Guitar, Classical Guitar, Bass Guitar, Korg Synthesizer, Wind Chimes, Percussion, Drums, Cymbals, Keyboard, Thunder Tube
Produced, mixed, edited & mastered by Boaz Goldberg
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