Upcoming Releases

At heart, Denver’s ZEPHR is a punk band. At live shows - with 0% irony - they cover “Hey Jealousy” by the Gin Blossoms. Within the spectrum of those two sentences lies the perfect description of ZEPHR's sound, which is captured in its most definitive form yet on their 2nd LP, Past Lives.  

In their songs, ZEPHR continue to pile on punk-adjacent influences (other than the Gin Blossoms, that is) and seem to relish any inherent contradictions. Some songs amp up to the point of almost veering off the rails, but are melodic in ways that make fake punks flinch. Some songs, like “My Memorial Day,” are downright tear-jerkers which contain precisely zero distorted guitars. Even the approaches of the two singers are somewhat at odds, with guitarist Jim Fitzpatrick’s rageful melodic bursts and bassist Eamonn Martin’s blood-curdling rasp entangling over their scorching riffs.

As the previous singles hinted (HiLoKC about the closing of a staple venue, and the title track about the death of a best friend), Past Lives is an ambitious album that touches on many different types of loss. But what Past Lives is really about is referenced directly in the album title: Sometimes, loss can churn us into a new chapter of our lives, and next thing we know, we are looking back on who we were before we lost that thing, or that person - before a part of us died and was reborn. Yet another inherent contradiction? Perhaps so.