Before the dust had settled on the Burnerz album, Zumbi comes right back with his main project, Zion I. The collaboration between Zumbi and AmpLive has been going strong for over ten years, and Atomic Clock is their seventh album. At this point in their career, things could easily get stale or drift in a strange or ill-advised direction. Or, best-case scenario, their chemistry would be strong and they would push each other, expand their sound, and make a great, urgent album. This album is the best-case scenario.

Musically adventurous, they push their sound on this album with reggae, dub, and dancehall, mixing it in with the hip hop that reflects their Bay Area roots, pulling on everything from funk to hyphy, the style of hip hop similar to crunk, made popular by Keak da Sneak and E-40. That this album feels effortless speaks volumes to the talents of AmpLive, who created the sound by working on drum machines and synthesizers and samplers and brought in live musicians to rehearse and jam and flesh the songs out. The result is a complex album bursting with energy.

On past projects the method of songwriting was that one might write for a while, and then give the song to other to flesh out, put together piece by piece. On this album Zumbi was in on the jam sessions, and as a result the words flow as naturally as the music. The title of the album refers to the timing and give and take between musicians, but also to the sense of urgency that they were feeling in life. Zumbi also manages a rare feat, keeping a positive message with lyrics about love, peace, religion and humanity, but he does so without sounding too preachy. I recently came across an Arrested Development song that I hadn’t listened to in ages (“People Everyday,”” for the record), and I was struck by how much I wanted to like it, but it was just so smug, I had to turn it off. Zumbi, however, feels the bass and the drums, works the audience, and delivers a message that is positive and heartfelt. It doesn’t condescend, but instead invites the listener to join him on the wonderful journey that he’s embarked on. It’s hard to say no.

Take a song like “Polarity” - it takes a string sample that sounds like its maybe taken from a Bollywood song (this is where I plead my own ignorance), throws some funky drums underneath it, then Zumbi discusses how people are constantly pitted against each other, whether its Jews vs. Muslims or Left vs. Right. We then reach a chorus of voices singing a jazz/R&B style as a vibraphone provides color in the background. Zumbi then declares that opposites rule the world. It’s a simple message, delivered powerfully, and that’s why this album works so well.