Toledo’s The Zimmerman Twins have been a staple in the northern Ohio music scene for more than two decades now. I first crossed paths with them in 2005, when my then-band The OffRamps shared a bill in Detroit. Madness ensued, and so did a friendship that remains today. We’ve done that a few times now, at various dives on both sides of the Michigan-Ohio line. Good times indeed.

It’s a rowdy show – singer Kevin Murnen (ex-Gone Daddy Finch) leading the way; piss-poor posture, low-slung Reverend guitar, dirty rat’s-nest hair, ill-fitting jeans exposing his plaid boxers hanging just above his butt-crack, croaking out lyrics with equal doses David Johansen and a young Paul Westerberg. Remaining guitar duties are shared on each side by one Matt Truman (Of the Matt Trumann Ego Trip, who I may or may not have drunkenly referred to as the Dave Grohl of North-Central Ohio from the stage in Maumee one night) and Ken Haas, who I’d already known from Culture Bandits and Rocket Sled for 15 years before he joined, double-timing ZT duties with his day-gig at the helm of the Circle R Ranch - the home of Reverend Guitars - in Sylvania. Matt can write a hell of a tune himself (and twist the knobs in a studio) and Ken can easily out-pick the best of `em, so once you add in the über-solid rhythm section and recently-added horns, The Zimm’s are loaded for bear.

For the first decade or so, I had a CD of The `Twins live on Cleveland’s WCSB radio in regular rotation; its cracked & busted up case bouncing between the front & back seats of my car as I made room for wayfaring passengers, PA speakers, and dying houseplants. The “official bootleg” and ringing ears from the shows we played together were all I had (missing out on their debut “It’s All Numb Now”) until 2017 saw their second studio effort – “American Tempo” – a more polished collection of rowdy, bluesy, punk odes to substance abuse, unrequited love, and rock and roll.

How to describe their sound? Take the Stones at their most smacked out, sometime after “Goat’s Head Soup“, but imagine if they were working up the material from “Exile on Main Street“ instead. Bobby Keys is in the corner getting Murnen high, encouraging him with his southern drawl and a wink to get bluesier. Gram Parsons is on the piano, mildly annoyed, pushing hard for the pretty parts to break up the blues-rock, and in walks Johnny Thunders from a few years later to add that beautiful but dirty punk aesthetic to the whole thing.

A short 3 years after “American Tempo” and we’re blessed with their third official release “Break a Heart” – 31 more minutes of Northern Ohio mojo-juice. They’ve stepped it up in all areas, first with the horns, elevating the “Exile” factor significantly. The arrangements are more creative and exploratory too. The funky break in the middle of Learn How to Land is a prime example of something beautiful you wouldn’t have heard before. The tune starts out like nothing special but it gets there quick, Murnen’s best-wasted Jagger (if he was from Mississippi) pushing the story. That middle-section-left-turn happens a couple more times as we careen towards the end of the album, but never twice the same way.

I love the title track, I Love the Way You Break a Heart – the “only slow song allowed” according to Murnen, the seminal songwriter. My favorite moment on the whole record, though, may be the last 15 seconds – a pretty little guitar bit (Truman again?) over a repeating, optimistic open-major-chord, tying things up into a poppy little package at the end of the night. The band wanted it longer. I tend to agree.

The album was recorded in their basement practice space, but it doesn’t sound like it. The snare is punchy as hell, the guitars and drums perfectly straddle the separate/blended line, and the vocals sit nicely on top, right where they belong. Let’s credit Roscoe, who mixed the album, for that. The songs are efficient and move quickly, giving you just enough of a riff or a sing-along chorus before the next part. This is attributed to Truman’s keen sense of editing – more what to cut than what to use – and Kevin’s willingness to let that unneeded fat fall to the wayside.

Kevin’s head is full of rock and roll, and he’ll talk you up all things Stones, `mats, Wilco, Heartbreakers (JT), Heartbreakers (TP), Cheap Trick, and on and on. Probably one of the reasons we’re friends. This record reflects all those things and more. It’s pure, dirty, and loose, but incredibly well written, arranged and executed American rock and roll. We need to cherish bands like them.

The record is available streaming everywhere on Friday, November 20th.

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Listen to the new album on Spotify HERE

Jeremy Porter lives near Detroit and fronts the rock and roll band Jeremy Porter And The Tucos. Follow them on Facebook to read his road blog about their adventures on the dive-bar circuit.
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Twitter: @jeremyportermi | Instagram: @onetogive & @jeremyportermusic