Zero Boys

Zero Boys
Vicious Circle / History of
(orig: Nimrod, 1982; re: Secretly Canadian, 2009 / Secretly Canadian, 2009)

Straight outta Indianapolis—the Zero Boys! To today’s punks, they’re not as recognizable a name as Black Flag or the Circle Jerks, but if anyone can offer a primer on how it’s done—discipline, energy, great songs, righteous anger—it’s the ZBs. With the CD release of these two discs, a reissue of 1982’s Vicious Circle and the lost History of collection, the band’s entire discography is finally available, and will more than likely have new listeners splashing cold water on their faces: “How come I’ve never heard these guys before?!”

They started in 1979 with the lineup of guitar player Terry “Hollywood” Howe, drummer Mark Cutsinger, singer Paul “Z” Mahern, and bass player John Mitchell, who was quickly replaced by the fantastic David “Tufty” Clough. Inspired by the various punk records trickling into Indianapolis, especially the debut from the Sex Pistols, the band recorded and released its debut seven-inch EP, Livin’ in the 80’s, in 1980. The original recording of the idol-burning title track, which confidently dismisses then-recent rock gods as dated (“Don’t wanna hear no more ’bout Mick Jagger’s old bones”), is featured on the History of disc with the rest of the EP, but was soon re-recorded for their best-known release: 1982’s Vicious Circle, a record with a classic status that’s wholly self-explanatory once you listen.

Polishing their delivery by practicing four to five hours a day during the spring of 1981, they reached the point where they were able to record all 14 tracks of their terrific-sounding album over two days. The end result is a raging, perfectly recorded document of a band that had clearly locked down their sound to its most crystallized form. It’s reminiscent of some LA sounds from that time—they wanted it to sound kinda like the Germs’ (GI), and its speed and abundant melodies are sometimes reminiscent of the Descendents. Vicious Circle is much faster than the EP for reasons explained in writer Jack Rabid’s liner notes: In the interim between the EP’s release and the recording of the album, the band got to hear records like the Dead Kennedys’ Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables and early Black Flag, and these sounds gave them a new sense of what was sonically possible. Album highlights include the explosive, anthemic “Civilization’s Dying” and “Hightime”, a racin’ track with more precision and speed than its lyrics about drunkenness and drug use would lead you to believe. In addition to those tracks featured on the album, they recorded two more songs: “She Said Goodbye” and “Slam and Worm”, which were previously not included due to Jello Biafra telling them they were “too pop” for the album.

There’s a bit of “pop” to be found on History of, but hey, the Zero Boys nailed killer melodies and there’s nothin’ Jello can do about it. Along with the Livin’ in the 80’s EP, the History of disc culls together the recorded remains of the group’s original incarnation, including several tracks that were recorded for a never-released second album. If you enjoy Vicious Circle, you really ought to pick this one up too: “Inergy” is a sub-Stooges snarl, “Mom’s Wallet” is about as infectious as a band can be in 47 seconds, and “Stoned to Death” is a swaggering Killed by Death classic that channels the very Stones they snubbed in “Livin’ in the 80’s.” This song, and “Amerika”, the band’s closest brush with pop—featuring an unusually distorted vocal and a metallic charge that culminates in a gloriously sloppy chorus—themselves make the disc (filler-free though it may be) worth picking up. The band would reunite in the early ’90s to record two more records with guitarist Vess Ruhtenberg taking Hollywood’s place, but today, it’s their late ’70s/early ’80s period they’re best known for. Your punk collection ain’t complete without these, buddy.

Listen: “Civilization’s Dying” and “Livin’ in the 80’s” [at secretlycanadian.com]

Tags: Zero Boys, Vicious Circle, reissue