Right Now!

It is in the face of the continued ignorance of the 1977 U.S. punk scene that the Zeros re-formed in the '90s, all four members intact, initially to record old, lost material for 1994's Knockin' Me Dead. It's not like they had nothing better to do. Guitarist Robert Lopez made a fine living touring the world as El Vez, the humorous, saucy, Mexican Elvis impersonator. Bassist Hector Penalosa made overlooked, nifty pop LPs solo and with Flying Color. And singer/leader Javier Escovedo teamed up with his brother Alejandro in True Believers. But from Right Now! it's clear this spirited foursome came back because, like the scene they sprang from, their music was just too much fun to die. Dubbed "the Mexican Ramones" 22 years previously, that not-far-off tag failed to account for their other telltale influences: pre-punk touchstone bands and heaps of garage rock. The Zeros make that apparent on Right Now!, pulling out old covers of the New York Dolls, the Seeds, and the Sonics. But the originals, including two redos of 1977-1980 nuggets "They Say (That Everything's Alright)" and "Handgrenade Heart," also blast with this Neanderthal, straight-ahead blast-rock, so loud, raucous, and full of rock & roll esprit -- the very quality missing from modern punk. Like older songs from "Wimp" to "Wild Weekend," they still range from slow, sloppy, grungy pop like "Siamese Tease" to rasping, rushing smasheroos such as "Right Now!," with Penalosa's more melodic pop bent indulged in "You, Me, Us." You know what? The Zeros don't care who's paying attention. That was the point, then and right now: they still seem like a secret, an attitude adjustment unchanged over two decades. Just yell "1-2-3-4" and they're off. ~ Jack Rabid