By Gary Wien
originally published: 08/29/2014
(ASBURY PARK, NJ) -- If you're like me and you listen to satellite radio in the car, chances are you've got a couple of favorite stations you turn to on a regular basis. One of mine is Iceberg, a station that largely plays Canadian artists. One band I've been hearing a lot of on the station is ZERBIN from Victoria, BC, which features the songwriting duo (Jason Zerbin & Peter Mol). Songs like "New Earth" and "Take Your Heart" are regularly in rotation. ZERBIN comes to The Saint in Asbury Park, NJ for the first time tonight (Friday, August 29) on a bill that includes Modern Suits and Underwater Country Club.
When you hear the whistles in "New Earth" you'll wonder where you've heard them before. Chances are it was from a national TV ad campaign for Coffee-mate or in the television trailer for the feature film, "Walking With Dinosaurs" by 20th Century Fox/BBC Earth.
The band's latest EP "Touch", sits in a moment between two frames of film: a superimposing of what's been and what is about to be. "Take Your Heart" and title track "Touch" are marked by a straightforward stadium rock that's reminiscent of UK's alt-rock pioneers - a sound that epitomized ZERBIN's early aspirations. However, songs like fan favorites "Lift" and "New Earth" open up a more accessible side of the band, one that embraces both anthem and whimsy.
ZERBIN's second full length album is slated for release in January 2015. For more information visit http://zerbinmusic.com.
The Saint is located at 601 Main Street in Asbury Park, NJ. Doors for the show are at 7:30pm, admission is $10. The show is 21 and up.
Gary Wien has been covering the arts since 2001 and has had work published with Jersey Arts, Upstage Magazine, Elmore Magazine, Princeton Magazine, Backstreets and other publications. He is a three-time winner of the Asbury Music Award for Top Music Journalist and the author of
Beyond the Palace (the first book on the history of rock and roll in Asbury Park) and
Are You Listening? The Top 100 Albums of 2001-2010 by New Jersey Artists. In addition, he runs New Jersey Stage and the online radio station
The Penguin Rocks. He can be contacted at
gary@newjerseystage.com.
