At 25, Zack Keim—whose musical background bridges the gap between garage-rock scuzz and kaleidoscopic folk reveries—has done enough performing for several lifetimes. Born and raised in the factory town of Blawnox, Pennsylvania, just outside Pittsburgh, Keim first picked up a guitar at age 13, when he enjoyed pretending to play along with his dad’s Beatles Anthology CD. He formed his earliest bands in middle school, performing Strokes and Arctic Monkeys covers to pubescent classmates. His life changed when he started sneaking out of the house to catch indie-rock concerts, particularly the acclaimed Pittsburgh group 1,2,3.
Out from the darkness of an increasingly heavy old world like one of Tolkein’s owls comes the enthusiastic, upbeat indie rock head bobber “Alice” from Keim. Combining the playful innocence of Daniel Johnston and early Shins, “Alice” is the type of song that reminds us all is OK to be happy, and a little weird. Battery Lane, Keim’s upcoming album, will be out in 2023.
