Zronimo – Mind Maze

Zronimo – Mind Maze – Album Review

Wild!  It’s been two years since we last had Zronimo on our pages?  Feels like it was only yesterday.

You know…every once in a while, I come across a song that’ll sound like it’s ahead of me somehow…like it’s something I hear that I can’t quite process on account of its uniqueness & such.  As I listened to “Turn Up” at the start of Zronimo’s new album Mind Maze, I had to wonder if I just wasn’t getting it, or if this is the kind of song that’ll continually grow on you as you listen over time…and I’m not entirely sure I ever got to an answer I felt satisfied with.  There are parts of “Turn Up” that work brilliantly…and I think…I mean, there’s a good chance that those pieces alone will keep most folks listening, but I also feel like the parts that work best will eventually pull us towards accepting anything we might have been questioning too.  For the most part, I’m stoked…Zronimo sounds LARGE & IN CHARGE when you hear him hit the start of the chorus, and that first slide outta the hooks into the next verse is slick AF.  The beat & music is minimalist by design, and it’s a tough mix…the mammoth sound of the low-end is hard to wrestle under the red line.  Zronimo got it under control, but at the same time, I think he’s probably got his vocals up a bit further in the mix than they’d need to be, which shrinks the potential size of this song a little more than necessary.  It’s a good start though…he’s got quality ideas, and the commanding presence he puts into the mic when he’s got that extra-edgy effect on his vocals in the hook is awesome.

Okay!  Okay Zronimo…I see you bro.  “Unfriend” is a jam for sure.  I’d likely put this song in the category of tunes where the verses outshine the chorus by like, 10-1.  Don’t get me wrong, the chorus is decent – but yeah…gotta call things like I hear’em, and there are way more hooks to be found in the verses of this tune.  At the end of the day, as long as there ARE hooks in a song somewhere, listeners tend to not complain so much…so trust me, Zronimo’s on solid ground with the stylistically inspired sound of “Unfriend.”  The opening verse of this cut is so damn enticing to listen to – Zronimo comes out gunnin’ and launches into a rhythmic roll that’s freakin’ superb to listen to.  While he usually reminds me of MJ in most of the moments I end up comparing him to someone in these reviews, on “Unfriend” it felt like he was drawing more closely to something like you’d hear in Prince’s New Power Generation era.  I suppose if we’re talking about comparisons, you can’t really lose with either of those names being cited, and Zronimo’s own path in music & his whole vibe closely follows the blueprints they laid out long ago.  It’d be hard to complain about “Unfriend” and I’m not the kind of dude to just make up a reason to – I think he’s got a cut that works out damn good, and he’s crushing it from the lead to the backing vocals.

Dude!  “Work It” is THE track yo!  Like…look…the best way I can put this, is that where there was like, a tonal choice or something I’d question in my first experiences listening to the opening two tracks, “Work It” is one of those songs where all you hear is universal perfection.  I’m no stranger to Zronimo’s music, so take it to heart when I tell you that within what’s already been an impressive selection of songs from when I first started listening years ago, “Work It” is bound to be a standout track in his catalog for years to come.  The music…MAN…the MUSIC!  Whatever it is that he’s using there…some kind of violin or string thing…you’ll know it when you hear it – it is AMAZING.  The vocal hook is exactly what this ultra-stylistic track was looking for in the chorus…the verses are INCREDIBLE, and having dual performers trading leads in two different genders & language sounds like the best collaboration of 2026 so far.  Like, the music is magnificently deadly…and while much is going to be made of the song’s main single-worthy hook, once again, I’d tell you that Zronimo has created verses that might very well possess an even stronger pull to them.  No joke – there’s no way to do “Work It” any better than what you hear in it now.

When this guy is at his best, he reaches such a remarkably high standard with his music.  When I spun my way through Mind Maze for the first time and heard “Work It,” I chuckled when it finished, because how the heck was Zronimo supposed to follow that up?  “What U Want” ends up in what should have been an impossible spot to fill in the lineup, but the man made the right call and switched the direction of sound into a more colorful & vibrant moment that will have no problem at all getting your approval.  I’ll admit, I had my doubts about anything that would follow “Work It,” and I should know better than to doubt Zronimo.  Really dig the pace, rhythm, and melody to this whole song…everything is movin’ and groovin’ from start to finish.  Well, with the exception of the breakdown where it glides along on a cushion of air for a brief moment…but you get it – the danceable way “What U Want” moves has a real allure to it.  Revealing his fantastic versatility on the mic, “What U Want” has got great balance to it all, and from verse to chorus & all the exquisite musicianship along the way, dude’s pretty irresistible here.

Alright…”Carolina FuNk” might verify that Zronimo is still at least somewhat human.  There are some good things to be found here for sure…the retro-80s sound is fantastic…like, it’s spot-on for the era and sounds like it could have come out anytime between 1986-1991.  I also love the finale to this tune and hearing Zronimo just yell it out towards the end, because the raw sound his rasp is tremendously cool.  There are some quirks here to be ironed out still though.  Balance in the vocals/volume is a bit of an issue at times…evening that out a bit could be beneficial.  I think “Carolina FuNk” is probably going to be more destined for debate in terms of personal preference.  Like, obviously the implication of Funk in any capacity implies FUN, right?  We can all agree on this, yes?  Good.  So don’t get me wrong, I think it’s fair to EXPECT fun when you’re listening to a track with ‘Funk’ in the title…but at the same time, I have to wonder if Zronimo might have pushed this one a little over the top with the personality inside this tune.  I could see people liking it for that very same reason too though, which is why I think we’ll all end up with our own individual feelings about what it is we like about “Carolina FuNk.”  There WILL be something you like…which is the good news.  Will it be the whole song?  I’m not quite as sure about that.  For me, the parts that worked best for me seemed like the more straightforward and serious parts of the song overall…and they were like, so strong that it felt like it made it harder for me to lighten up & accept the more intentionally fun parts of the sound in the personality-driven side of “Carolina FuNk.”

If I felt like Zronimo might have left about 10% still on the table when it comes to the potential of “Carolina FuNk,” then “Love Again” is missing about 35-40% of its potential by comparison.  I think he’s got some solid ideas in the pattern and design of the vocal melody without a doubt…but he’s missing the mark of what it requires as it’s currently performed.  Do I think Zronimo’s capable of meeting the demands that this song has, as far as his vocal abilities are concerned?  Absolutely.  Dude’s a really, really damn good singer.  What I’ve found he isn’t always throughout the years I’ve been listening, is him being objective enough at points along the way…and this is one of those times.  He KNOWS he’s got more to give “Love Again” than what you hear in it right now…he doesn’t NEED me to tell him that, yet here I am being THAT dude because he’s put me in this position!  Songwriting-wise, I think he’s got an excellent song here for sure, but the performance/gear he’s looking to be in to make it work is still eluding him at the moment.  He’s more than capable of getting this song where it needs to go, and I think it’s worth it to take more time with “Love Again” because the framework of this track is strong.

Mixed feelings on “M.A.N.” I suppose.  What I like, I REALLY like…but I don’t know if I could say that I truly liked it all I guess.  This would be another track where the verses way outshine the chorus to me, but I think the distance between the strength of what we hear in each part is more drastic than what we experienced earlier on in “Unfriend.”  The slow-rap breakdown is…true to the style, and that’s all well and good…just harder to say whether or not it really ended up feeling like it made a major contribution to this tune.  Look…how the heck do I put this…it’s not like “M.A.N.” doesn’t have a hook that COULD work in the chorus…like, if you like what he’s got goin’ on there, I’d understand where you’re coming from more or less.  I think for my own personal taste, it’s a bit on the repetitive side for me, and I’m just not convinced the repetition of “I’m a man” is all that worthy of hearing it multiple times.  I’ll tell you this much though, each time “M.A.N.” came back on as I worked my way through this set-list, I was continually blown away by how stellar the opening to this song is and the sound of Zronimo in the verses.  I think that even though the hook of “M.A.N.” in its chorus works on a technical level, to me it also kind of felt like he had an inspired direction for his verses, and then settled a bit when it came time for the main hooks.  I like the songwriting of “Love Again” better, but “M.A.N.” had better production.  Plus that guitar solo!  It’s definitely too damn short, but it’s a noteworthy highlight.  The performance is in line as well…I think there’s just a tad too much of what there’s too much of is all, and maybe you won’t feel that same way.  I could see the verdict on “M.A.N.” going either way based on personal taste.

If you’re into musicals, majestic ballads and such, you’ll probably have an easier time with “Butterflies” than I did.  For myself personally, I think I felt like this particular track borders on being melodramatic, or at the least, felt like it was somewhat outta place in this lineup of songs on Mind Maze.  I don’t think there’s much fault to be found in the performance…that aspect of “Butterflies” is all well and good…and I respect that Zronimo’s doing something that’s different than so much of what’s out there right now with this song, but I have a much harder time convincing myself that this is where the people are at as well.  I was talking just the other day about the differences you can find in songs you like versus songs you appreciate, and “Butterflies” is a perfect example of what that’s all about.  I appreciate a song like “Butterflies” more than I’d like to listen to it…but again, that might just be my take on it.  I think you have to admire the performance Zronimo puts into his vocals and the beauty he brings to its melody, but I also think this tune goes so far against the grain when it comes to relevant sounds in the scene right now that there’s practically no way for this song to make the impact that he’d like it to have.  As a single separate from the album…it might work…I suppose I’d say it has a better chance being released as a standalone track than trying to justify its place in the lineup of Mind Maze by comparison to the rest.

So if you’re keeping score at home…the first third is fantastic, the middle of the record is less consistent, and we’re looking for some redemption in the last four tracks.  As much as I’d love to say that’s coming with “My Babies,” this ain’t where it happens, unfortunately.  Zronimo…my man…we’ve been here before and we both know you’ve got an excellent ear for sound, but that objectivity needed to leave behind a performance that doesn’t quite work, or the wherewithal to not settle, is not often your strong suit my friend.  “My Babies” needs more than it has on just about every level if I’m being honest with ya, and this might be one of those moments that simply doesn’t have enough to make it work at all.  As it currently stands, the performance is uneven and I know you know that because I KNOW you can hear that…but I also think that material-wise, I was never convinced “My Babies” has enough tangible strength.  There are more than a few noticeable inconsistencies on Mind Maze, and Zronimo knows I can’t just let that slide when I know even better that the guy is capable of a level of greatness most folks could never hope to reach.  Anytime he falls short of that, I’ve gotta be there to call him out…it’s what I do.  I don’t mind the ideas at the heart of “My Babies,” but I don’t see how it could become anything more than what we’d all likely describe as a good song at its maximum potential, instead of a great one.  I think we all get where he’s coming from on a sentimental and sweet level, and that’s to be admired for sure, but maybe tracks like “My Babies” are meant more for private family moments than the limelight.

If I’m being truthful, I feel it slipping away from Zronimo in this set-list.  There are things I absolutely LOVE about “B.S. 2.0 (Back Stabber)” when it comes to the performance aspect…the man sings this one lights-out and couldn’t have done a better job.  As for the song itself…I dunno…I’m just not really hearing it in this particular context here…I feel like it was a better fit into Zronimo’s Hitman.  Musically, I love the depth and dimension it has…I love the weight to it & I’ve commented before on how it’s kind of like how you hit that one spot of MJ’s Dangerous when you reach “Give In To Me” and the seriousness takes the center of the spotlight.  It’s definitely one of those split personality types of tunes, where I’m not always convinced that we’re not gonna like one side way more than the other.  It’s like one half is artistic, and the other half is wild, over-the-top, fireworks-from-the-stage, 80s Rock.  While the guitar solo is a huge highlight without question and the instrumentation in the verses is as well, what you’ll hear in the chorus still feels like well-worn terrain that’s been explored in many ways long before this tune came along.  It’s yet another track where I’d tell you the verses are its real strength…and with each iteration of these types of tunes, the discrepancies between what works and what feels like it doesn’t, keeps getting more pronounced.  Maybe a bit too much on the hair-side of Rock for me when it comes to the main hooks…I’m more of a fan of the artistic side of Zronimo’s sound in the mist of the verses, but even feeling that way, objectively I can still hear that that’s a harder part for listeners to get excited by.  If we were judging by performance alone, Zronimo would definitely still get the highest of marks here.

Was “Hussle Trap” always called “Hussle Trap?”  I can’t remember…but I can tell you this is Zronimo recycling one of his ideas from the past, because it’s a highly memorable hook he’s working with.  So have I heard it before?  Yep – I’m absolutely positive I have – and I’d still tell you that hook is remarkable to this very day now.  Do I think Zronimo has squeezed every ounce of juice he could have out of this song though?  No…I still think there’s something more it has to give, and we’re still in search of the right combination to unlock this track’s maximum potential.  I don’t love the mix on the verses…vocals come out a bit too low to have the punch they need there.  I like the backing elements in the song and the dynamics they add…I like the precision in the metering and the pace “Hussle Trap” and I still think that ultimately, there’s a win here.  I might still want more out of this song somehow, some way…but even I’m willing to live with it as it stands because the hook is so damn bulletproof.  I’ve always told you I’m greedy when it comes to what I’m listening to, and this is a prime example of that.  Zronimo’s out there doin’ what he does & he’s doin’ it well…and here I am, still somehow demanding MORE outta the guy.  It is what it is and I am who I am I guess.  “Hussle Trap” is the best track so far in the record’s final third – how about that?  Even if I might want more out of it, I still think he’s also got a highly special hook here.

I think he makes an interesting move in the final moments of this record with “Mind Maze (T.O.C.S MEGAMIX)” at the end.  It’s like what you’d get if you were to prompt your Google machines to audibly summarize the entire record into one tasty bite.  It’s not an easy task, but in the span of under nine minutes in length, Zronimo takes you on a final tour through the Mind Maze before everything wraps up in full.  So yeah…like I said…interesting choice.  On the one hand, you can look at this as smart marketing if you were to drop this to the music stations & industry influencers, and it could pretty much double as a perfect elevator pitch for an album if someone ever asked him what Mind Maze sounded like, you just push play on “Mind Maze (T.O.C.S MEGAMIX).”  On the other hand, there’s something strange about doing this too…almost like it’s a kind of audible admission that these fragments of the songs you hear are the main parts you’d want to pay attention to, and it kind of feels weird to be able to boil down the full contents of a record into one single medley.  From a listener’s perspective, with “Mind Maze (T.O.C.S MEGAMIX)” reaching back towards the front of the set-list as it cycles through samples of the songs, it’s very easy to slide right back with Zronimo to the beginning where the lineup had the most strength to it.  You do get a little bit of new material in this track before the end with about two minutes left on the clock if I’m not mistaken…but for as welcome as it is to find in the mix here, I don’t know if it’s a strong enough fragment of the song to bring the people running back to the full nine-minutes for another spin.

I’ve heard enough of Zronimo’s catalog over the years to get a sense of when he’s locked in the grip of inspiration and needing to slow himself down a bit…and this might be one of those times.  I feel like the first half of Mind Maze works really well, and the second half didn’t quite measure up to the standards he started out with.  While I think it’s certainly true that this dude has always got something in every song that would make it worth your while to tune into Mind Maze and see what YOU would like best, the album plays like a split representation of where he’s been in the past, and where he’s going next, which will likely lead to listeners feeling like they connected with half the material more than the other.  At his most focused, he’s a visionary talent with incredible skill, an undeniably remarkable voice, and stunning craftsmanship.  From my perspective, he’s just gotta fight with himself a little more directly when it comes to separating the good stuff in his material from the great…but once he really masters the art of objectivity, it’ll be another important tool he can use to his advantage on his way to the top.

Find out more about Zronimo from the official pages below!

Main Site:  https://zronimo.com

Soundcloud:  https://soundcloud.com/zronimo

Apple Music:  https://music.apple.com/us/artist/zronimo/1591621109

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@zronimo2020

Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/artist/4dWKe5SHC1XhmF1859zjTH

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