In recent years, the Jigsaw Seen has been a part of tribute albums honoring the Hollies, the Left Banke and the ('60s-era) Bee Gees, and two of its members backed Kinks guitarist Dave Davies on a solo tour. All of which says a lot about Zenith. Yes, power-pop is the ticket here, and this band does it uncannily well, echoing Big Star-obsessed bands like Teenage Fanclub, Matthew Sweet and the Posies. In fact, those artists are actually the Jigsaw Seen's contemporaries; the band's last disc was released in 1991, and they've since worked with the likes of Ann Magnuson, the Wondermints and Rufus Wainwright. The Seen's finely honed harmonies and guitar work deliver all the finesse that the style requires when combined with neo-baroque melodies, gently plucked violins and harmonium. Though the group clearly reveres its influences, it manages to stake out its own territory as well. Here's hoping it won't be another nine years before the next album. 
- Amir Hijazi: CMJ New Music Report Issue: 693 - Nov 27, 2000
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Well, it’s about damn time. Ten years after the release of their full-length debut, Shortcut Through Clown Alley, the Jigsaw Seen finally serve up a second long-player. Oh sure, there’s been the occasional live appearance, a few singles, a five-song EP, and contributions to various compilations and tribute albums to fill the void, but only card-carrying members of L.A.’s mid-’90s pop scene and subscribers to The Ptolemaic Terrascope were aware of most of them. Now, just when you were about to lose all faith in modern psychedelia and cast your fate to the new Yanni CD, the Jiggies have emerged from their self-imposed exile, proffering Zenith like a thorny, 11-track bouquet.

As we useta say back in the Gulag Archipelago, it was worth the wait. Head Seensters Dennis Davison and Jonathan Lea obviously feel a great affinity for the darker side of late-’60s British psych-pop — think “Every Christian Lionhearted Man Will Show You” by the Bee Gees crossed with the Move’s “Cherry Blossom Clinic,” and you’ve got the basic melodic template — but re-creating the bad trips of Swinging London isn’t quite where they’re at, baby. While Syd Barrett and his paisley-fried counterparts found their inspiration in Lewis Carroll and Victorian fairy tales, there’s something about Zenith that harks all the way back to the Puritan settlements of 17th-century New England. The targets of “Letter to the Editor” and “Celebrity Interview” are certainly contemporary, but Davison delivers his harsh appraisals with the cold-eyed fury of a Salem witch-hunter, while most of the songs possess a dour sense of humor that could only be born of numerous cold, hard winters. Lea employs an impressive (and always tasteful) array of guitar tones throughout the album, and his jangling 12-strings and echoing e-bows conjure up visions of barren trees and ghostly apparitions. Don’t be fooled by the festive artwork on the cover — this is definitely a record to haunt houses by.

But if creepily evocative lyrics and soundscapes aren’t your particular bag, you can always just get off on Zenith’s well-crafted songs. Though some of these tracks date back half a decade or more, they hang together remarkably well; every odd-numbered song is laced with a sure-fire hook or three, while the even ones (most notably “Fiddlesticks” and “If My Eyes Offend You”) reveal their true charms after repeated spins. Nice job, guys. See you again in 2010? (Dan Epstein)
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It’s been nine years since the last full length album from this LA band, and Zenith comes unreservedly recommended. This studio-friendly band mix a heady cocktail with the rare ability (nowadays at least) to vary their approach and handle all kind of musical styles keeping the listeners on their toes at all times as they twiddle their mellotrons, stylophones, optigans, analog synths and e-bows. The Abba-esque piano breaks on the opening track Letter to the Editor and the following catchy, groove-based I’m With You set the pace and warm you for thrills yet to come. Other favourite tracks include the pure pop gem Girl on a Red Velvet Swing and the dark melancholic If My Eyes Offended You. In a perfect world this album would be filed next to Jellyfish in the burgeoning Power Pop section of any given record store, be hailed a classic and sell enough for these studio rats to get their act into a nearby venue.
Torbjorn Wickman
CWAS #7 - Spring 2001
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