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Cannonball’s coverage of the NYC music scene
Review of Zack Daniel’s Memoirs of a Scared Teenager (originally published in Boog City 101)
About one year ago, next to the men’s room in the basement of East Village antifolk stomping ground Sidewalk Cafe, a shelf full of books appeared.
Some regulars call it a library, because books can be taken from and put on the shelf by anyone. Most are outdated instruction manuals and obscure cookbooks, with the occasional book of poems or fiction.
This past winter, on a late December evening, a bunch of homemade Memorex CD-Rs appeared on the shelf, complete with liner notes handwritten in sharpie on paper sleeves, and a note from the musician.
“A gift to you. If you’re not going to listen to this, or you want to share this, please do share and spread the love.”
The gift is not a Blu-ray release of It’s a Wonderful Life. It’s singer/songwriter/guitarist Zack Daniel’s debut album, Memoirs of a Scared Teenager.
The title is a perfect description of the New Rochelle, NY native’s songs, telling of awkward love, high school melodrama, and coming-of-age confusion over downtempo guitar work reminiscent of Elliot Smith, moving between standard folk-pop chord changes and more experimental, jazzy modulations, sometimes backed by drummers Jacob Weingast and Eli Sills.
Daniel, who started playing shows on the antifolk scene around the time the aforementioned library appeared, has a gift for combining well-written music and lyrics with genuinely awkward performance, in a way that resonates with audiences rather than alienating them.
Maybe this gift comes from the anxiety and confusion of being a teenager in the 21st century, or maybe he’s simply picked up on something by being a fan of 1990s’ lo-fi and antifolk music.
Wherever it comes from, it’s a gift to music fans, and he continues to share it all year round, performing at music venues and festivals around New York.
– Jesse Statman
Read more of Cannonball’s coverage of the NYC music scene from this era:
1. Review of The Grasping Straws’ self-titled debut album
2. Profile of Stu Richards, formerly known as Chicken Leg
3. Review of Thomas Patrick Maguire’s In The Bag
4. Review of The First Law’s She Traveled With Me
5. Review of Little Cobweb’s Indelible Marks
6. Review of Zack Daniel’s Memoirs of a Scared Teenager
7. Review of Prewar Yardsale’s Black and Blue
8. Review of Yeti’s Pill
9. Profile of Horra
10. Profile of Lauren O’Brien
11. Review of Nancy Paraskevopoulos’ Comfort Muffin
12. Blurb for The Icebergs’ Eldorado