Recent articles written by Carlos Zerzan

Wilco – Star Wars
I heard the 9th studio album by Wilco was a surprise release. Then I heard the band debuted the record live at the Pitchfork Music Festival to a frothing hometown crowd. Then I heard the record was called Star Wars but had nothing to do with Disney property. Needless to...

The Regressives – The Regressives
If you pine for the sounds of straight up, no frills, fist-pumping street punk that was so ubiquitous in the 90s, look no further than The Regressives. The NYC band plays a hard-hitting ode to ’77 style punk on their self-titled LP. The fourteen-track album keeps your attention as it...

Joanna Gruesome – Peanut Butter
It’s late spring. It’s the time of year where summer is right around the corner and if you’re like me, you just want to hear some feel-good music to go along with your daily grind. Maybe you also want that feel-good music to have some edge to it. Perhaps you...

Skinny Lister – Down On Deptford Broadway
Down on Deptford Broadway, the second full length from London’s Skinny Lister, hits hard with a perfect blend of catchy, rowdy pub sing-a-longs and beautiful folk ballads. Sometimes with both styles featured on the same track. Think rich folk and the sea chantey sounds of The Pogues mixed with the...

Belle and Sebastian – Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance
Belle and Sebastian are back for the first time in five years. The acclaimed Scottish group have recorded a dance album this time around. Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance is a much different route than their earlier releases. Though, the band retains their trademark knack for long, cool album...

Steve Earle – Terraplane
Terraplane isn’t the classic Steve Earle of Copperhead Road or I Feel Alright. Sure he’s departed from his roots-rock, country foundation now and then to dabble in bluegrass, folk, and an almost metal hard rock sound. But on Terraplane, Steve Earle & The Dukes dive head first, together, into a...

Divers – Hello Hello
Hello Hello, the debut LP by Portland’s Divers, is sure to make a splash in the Pacific Northwest and then expand in larger concentric ripples nationwide. This record rocks through and through. Hello Hello is the kind of album (or CD or cassette or 8-Track, whatever) you want to throw...

Choke Up – Black Coffee, Bad Habits
Really? Black Coffee, Bad Habits is a debut album? This record is hard-hitting, polished, and really damn good from start to finish and much more than I would’ve expected from a band’s first full-length but it’s true. Black Coffee, Bad Habits is, in fact, Choke Up’s debut LP. Choke Up...