"I'm too young to feel this old..."
"Better Days" by Pittsburgh-based indie-folk singer-songwriter Zack Keim is as cool as it is endearing. A bit of a sonic time machine, the track is saturated in an airy AM radio haze circa mid 50's to mid 60's like a sonic amalgam of Buddy Holly and surf rock duo Jan and Dean (Dead Man's Curve popped into my brain). Penned with singer songwriter Matt Costa (who also directed the Official Video), Zack has also cradled the purity with a sort of busker punk rock underbelly like if The Drums or Ramones were transported back to the 50's or if the Violent Femmes were PG rated. This sound with a slight sideways, bohemian quality is the kind of song that could grace a Wes Anderson flick while younger versions of Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman and Adrien Brody are running through china shops.
Zack shares this:
"The song 'Better Days' to me represents a reflection of hopeful youth but also the daily struggles of life. When we wrote the song together we reflected on what has happened over the last few years, and how we all had our ups and downs. Yet, we remain hopeful that better times and better days lay ahead."
Better Days” will be available on April 21. In June, the physical single will be released as a 7-inch on Action Weekend Records out of Europe. Keim will be supporting the release with a handful of East Coast shows in the United States and Spain this spring.
7-Inch Pre-Order is available via Rough Trade: https://www.roughtrade.com/us/product/zack-keim/better-days-11
7-Inch Pre-Order is available via Rough Trade: https://www.roughtrade.com/us/product/zack-keim/better-days-11
-Robb Donker Curtius
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7Dha1DS1w2rQJe6iQjL7Li
https://www.instagram.com/zackkeim/
Zack Keim can find inspiration nearly anywhere. The Pittsburgh singer-songwriter hatched the hook for his 2022 single “Canyon” while driving around Washington, D.C. making food deliveries, singing voice memos into his phone. An insistent vocal refrain (“Can-yonnn!”) was all it took; Keim started strumming the melody on his guitar, and pretty soon the song blossomed into a buoyant folk-pop gem of a tune. Keim’s first solo single since his 2017 debut First Step, “Canyon” serves as a monumental leap forward and the first taste of Keim’s forthcoming sophomore effort, Battery Lane. Keim returned this April of 2023 with his standalone single “Better Days,” a wistful gem that wrests melodic bliss out of pangs of nostalgia. “Better Days” hearkens back to Keim’s garage-rock roots with what he describes as a “fast-paced Ramones/Beach Boys vibe”: pounding tempos, wall-of-sound harmonies, vintage six-string textures. Lyrically, the song summons the feeling of sitting in a diner seat, longing for better things in the past, a theme captured by the evocative music video, which was directed by Matt Costa. Keim co-wrote the tune with Costa, the indie singer-songwriter, and Chad Monticue of Animal Scream in California. “Better Days” will be released as a 7inch vinyl via Action Weekend Records (Europe) this summer. Keim is now at work on his second solo album, titled Battery Lane after the street he lived on in the D.C. area. Produced by Jake Hanner (Donora) and the duo Animal Scream.
Zack Keim, singer songwriter, indie rock, folk indie, folk rock, 60's / 70's textures, Washington, D.C., "Better Days" (Official Video), nostalgia, folk noir, busker to punk,
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7Dha1DS1w2rQJe6iQjL7Li
https://www.instagram.com/zackkeim/
Zack Keim can find inspiration nearly anywhere. The Pittsburgh singer-songwriter hatched the hook for his 2022 single “Canyon” while driving around Washington, D.C. making food deliveries, singing voice memos into his phone. An insistent vocal refrain (“Can-yonnn!”) was all it took; Keim started strumming the melody on his guitar, and pretty soon the song blossomed into a buoyant folk-pop gem of a tune. Keim’s first solo single since his 2017 debut First Step, “Canyon” serves as a monumental leap forward and the first taste of Keim’s forthcoming sophomore effort, Battery Lane. Keim returned this April of 2023 with his standalone single “Better Days,” a wistful gem that wrests melodic bliss out of pangs of nostalgia. “Better Days” hearkens back to Keim’s garage-rock roots with what he describes as a “fast-paced Ramones/Beach Boys vibe”: pounding tempos, wall-of-sound harmonies, vintage six-string textures. Lyrically, the song summons the feeling of sitting in a diner seat, longing for better things in the past, a theme captured by the evocative music video, which was directed by Matt Costa. Keim co-wrote the tune with Costa, the indie singer-songwriter, and Chad Monticue of Animal Scream in California. “Better Days” will be released as a 7inch vinyl via Action Weekend Records (Europe) this summer. Keim is now at work on his second solo album, titled Battery Lane after the street he lived on in the D.C. area. Produced by Jake Hanner (Donora) and the duo Animal Scream.
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