The Cage Was Unlocked

Zoey Van Goey, like many other bands before them, were a product of serendipity and cosmopolitan wanderlust: hailing from Canada, Ireland and England, they finally coalesced around the verdant cloisters of Glasgow University in 2006. With The Cage Was Unlocked we find bandits and buried treasure co-existing with tales of TEFL students teaching in Fukuyama; dark ruminations on the coming apocalypse alongside romantic kidnap ballads; a surreal journey that's as melodically whimsical as it is structurally complex. With the fairytale element heightened further by Peter Diamond's Herge meets Henry Darger artwork, Zoey Van Goey's debut album becomes a work of charming ambition loaded with full-blooded sing-along choruses, understated keyboards, close harmonies and irresistible melodies - all underpinned by various musical ephemera including vintage Super Mario sound effects.