The Zero Boys: Playback Is Hell - VINYL LP
Artist: The Zero Boys
Label: Secretly Canadian
Product Type: VINYL LP
UPC: 656605051215
Genre: Rock
Release Date: 2025-10-10
Number of Discs: 1
There was a time - call it Saturn returns, call it theearly '90s, call it the last gasp before the internet devouredeverything - when The Zero Boys found ourselves staring into adifferent kind of fire.We had grown out of our hardcore skin - not inrejection but in evolution. We were restless. Songs no longercame in bursts of pure speed; they twisted, expanded, askedquestions. Structure was no longer the enemy. We let the songsbreathe, and in return, they told us things we hadn't expected tohear. The songs collected here from 'Make It Stop' (1991) and 'TheHeimlich Maneuver' (1992) capture that moment.Recorded less than a year apart, these two albums aredocuments of a moment when we were following instinct -pushing the edges of our own sound, threading personalspiritual exploration through the fuzz and the fury. It wasn'treligious. It was searching. Trying to locate the self inside thenoise of the world. Trying to speak honestly about confusion,resistance, and the parts of ourselves that don't fit neatly intoslogans or genres.At the time, we knew we were changing, but we didn'tknow into what. Now, decades later, playback reveals somethingclearer. These songs - lyrically, musically, emotionally - feelmore urgent in the now than they did then. The politics haveaged well, which is both a triumph and a tragedy. What wewrote in a moment of creative combustion now sounds likewarning flares - about institutions, about violence, about thequiet need for meaning under it all.So yes, 'Playback is Hell.' But not the hell of torment. The hell offire. The hell of transformation. The heat of memory andmeaning suddenly rising again. Thanks for listening - then,now, and next.- Paul Mahern, 2025
Tracks:
1.1 Make It
1.2 Anatomically Incorrect
1.3 Birds
1.4 Twin
1.5 Stick My Hands
1.6 Fly Bite
1.7 Godless Girl
1.8 In the Back of My Mind
1.9 Purely Intentional
1.10 Shade
1.11 Green Army Jacket
1.12 Trust Anyone
1.13 So Excited
1.14 Parasite Man
1.15 Bleach Blanket Boi Oi Oi
On average, orders containing available-to-ship items are processed and dispatched within 1-2 business days, although this is not guaranteed.
Orders containing preorder items will ship as 1 fulfillment once all items in the order are available to ship.
Please note, Tower Records Merchandise and Exclusives are dispatched separately. On average, these items take 3-4 business days to dispatch, although this is not guaranteed.
The estimated shipping times that are displayed at checkout are from the point of dispatch.
See our shipping policy for more information.
We have a 30-day return policy, which means you have 30 days after receiving your item(s) to make a return.
For orders created between 11/17/2025 and 12/31/2025, we have extended our normal return period. For orders made between this period, customers have up to 60 days from the receipt of goods to return an item. Please see our Christmas Returns page for more information.
To be eligible for a return of an unwanted item, your item must be in the same condition that you received it and in its original packaging.
In the unfortunate situation that a product is damaged/faulty/incorrect, let us know and we will endeavor to correct any issue as soon as possible.
Please see our refund policy for more information.
