Location: Belgrade, Serbia
Year active: 1999 - ?????
Members: Boris Milić, Tina Stupar
Related bands: MLEV, Mob Law, Tone
FFO: Dashboard Confessional, Senses Fail, The Starting Line, Taking Back Sunday, Pidgeon
Zombie Animal is a Belgrade-based collaborative project led by Boris Milić, founded back in 1999. Their only album, simply titled Milić, was finally released in 2006 after a lengthy recording period between 2002 and 2004. Milić handled all the instruments and arrangements, while Tina Stupar contributed most of the vocals.
The album features 13 original songs and a Senses Fail cover, spanning a total runtime of 57 minutes. Musically, Zombie Animal falls somewhere between midwest emo and alternative rock. For example, the opener "Shining Mask" begins with a gentle, warm flow before launching headfirst into pop-punk territory. Stupar’s polished vocals — perhaps a little too smooth for the rawness pop-punk usually demands, are nevertheless catchy and invite listeners to sing along.
Another standout is "Trap-free", featuring Andrija Spičanović of 36 Daggers on guest vocals. While the production does feel somewhat dated by today's standards, it fits the album’s emocore sensibility, think Jawbreaker or Ashes rather than studio-polished mainstream emo. Tracks like "This Emptiness Hangs Heavy" even flirt with dream pop textures, showing surprising versatility.
Lyrically, the album deals with existential crises, the search for identity, societal alienation, and finding ways to survive in a world full of chaos, lies, and hollow values. Interestingly, the upbeat instrumentals often contrast with the dark thematic undercurrents, giving the record an almost bittersweet feeling.
That said, the album’s lengthy runtime can drag at points, and some songs start to blur together. It's not a tight or urgent listen, unless you’re joyriding with this CD on full blast, in which case it becomes a surprisingly pleasant, nostalgic soundtrack.
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Zombie Animal je beogradski kolaborativni projekat koji je 1999. godine pokrenuo Boris Milić. Njihov jedini album, jednostavno nazvan Milić, ugledao je svetlo dana tek 2006, nakon dugotrajnog snimanja između 2002. i 2004. Milić je sam odradio sve instrumente i aranžmane, dok je vokale u najvećoj meri donela Tina Stupar.
Album broji 13 originalnih pesama i jedan cover (Senses Fail), u ukupnom trajanju od skoro sat vremena. Zvukovno, Zombie Animal se kreće negde između midwest emo-a i alternativnog rocka. Već prva stvar, Shining Mask, otvara se nežnim, toplim uvodom, da bi se potom preokrenula u pop-punk pravcu. Stuparin glas je ispeglan, možda i previše gladak za sirovost kakvu taj žanr obično traži, ali i dalje dovoljno zarazan da povuče slušaoca na pevanje.
Poseban trenutak je Trap-free, gde gostuje Andrija Spičanović iz 36 Daggers. Produkcija danas zvuči pomalo zastarelo, ali zapravo se savršeno uklapa u emocore senzibilitet – bliže Jawbreaker ili Ashes nego studijski ispoliranim emo mainstream bendovima. Na mestima, kao u This Emptiness Hangs Heavy, bend čak koketira sa dream pop teksturama, pokazujući neočekivanu širinu.
Tematski, album se bavi egzistencijalnim krizama, potragom za identitetom, osećajem otuđenja u društvu i pokušajima da se opstane u svetu prepunom haosa, laži i šupljih vrednosti. Zanimljivo je da često vedra i melodična instrumentalna podloga kontrastira sa mračnijim lirskim nitima, dajući celini neku vrstu gorko-slatkog osećaja.
Ipak, dugačak format ume da bude zamoran – pesme povremeno počinju da liče jedna na drugu, pa slušanje u kontinuitetu zna da se razvlači. Ovo nije album koji nosi snagom urgentnosti, već više soundtrack za kasnu vožnju kolima, kad pustiš CD do kraja i prepustiš se nostalgičnom vajbu.
