"25 years, 24 nights / since I've been wasting all your time..."
The raucous raised stakes revelry of "25 Years" by Pittsburgh singer-songwriter, artist Zack Keim, is one of those forever songs, an indie rocker steeped in blends of revisionist rock, bedroom pop, post punk, twee and spirited grasps of live 50's / 60's / 70's / 80's touchstone rock. Like a veritable SEES Candy sampler you get a bit of everything and it is so very tasty. The blistering notions of what could be, and is, features a wonderful Official Video captured, appropriately, by 25 cameras to highlight the February 7th release of Keim's new album "Battery Lane" released via Evan Westfall of Caamp's label Super Sport Records.
While the bright and punchy guitar sound might feel a bit reminiscent of halcyon The Strokes, Keim's bold vocal countenance goes the other way, no copycat heavy 'Reptilia' mic distortion but a more open snarling wail that feels more akin to 60's artists like The Animals or The Spencer Davis Group. This sound just feels less compressed, less in the box and a nod to iconic atmospheres. I feel this homage with the backing vocals as well. The track slaps in a big, big way.
LINER NOTES via Zack (bracketed):
["25 Years" came to life one night in the studio while I was jamming with my producer, Jake Hanner. We were messing around with a chord progression I had, when out of nowhere the line “25 Years, 24 Nights” slipped out subconsciously. At first, it didn’t feel like much, so I let the song sit for a while.
While on tour in California, I played it for Jordan Clark my guitarist (who also plays in The Frights). His reaction was “What the hell is this song? It’s great!” Jordan encouraged us to revisit it in the studio and sprinkled his magic dust on it, transforming it into what the recording is today.
For me, the song captures the feeling of being trapped in time, like it takes 25 years, 25 nights just to start understanding. It’s the pain of waiting for something to shift, even when you don’t know exactly what that something is. That line came from a very personal place, reflecting the quiet realization of time slipping through your fingers especially as I transitioned into my mid-twenties.
The music video is just as unconventional. Directed by Anthony Peduzzi, we had the audience film it using a mix of cameras—Nintendo DS, VHS, flip phones—25 cameras in total. The result is a raw, chaotic energy that mirrors the song’s essence perfectly.
Fun fact: it’s also the only track on the album where I play the bass line."]
The Official Video, the song, the conceptual things happening, the freewheeling aesthetic and those nods and hugs all feel so embracing
You can Pre-Order the album here https://supersportrecords.com/
-Robb Donker Curtius
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THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://www.instagram.com/zackkeim
https://www.facebook.com/zackkeim
https://www.tiktok.com/@zack_keim
https://actionweekend.bandcamp.com/
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 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, indie rock, bedroom, retro rock, alt pop, folk, singer songwriter, musician, artist, new album "Battery Lane", "25 Years" (Official Video), alt rock,
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