Who are the Athletes of Romance? What do they want? They are a different breed of cat. Watch for their signs in your moment of grace and hour of panic. Listen for their manifestos in your love-making. For what is it that they want? You, of course.

17 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Folk Rock, FOLK: Modern Folk



Details:
"Who are the athletes of romance? What do they want? They are a different breed of cat, dressed in eveningwear over elbow pads, the children of Sisyphus who live to struggle and struggle to live. Highly celebrated in their cells and press conferences and converted basements, they own everything you can see, but still drink. Seemingly fleet of foot and hard of heart, the viciousness of these glass-jawed warriors belies their love for the opponent, the referee, the ring itself, and most of all, the bell. For their punctured lungs are flooding with love, and it is because they are drowning that they are often hard-pressed to give a good Goddamn. They know they will never be as good or brave as their heroes, who are also athletes of romance. Informed by their golden enemies that they are silver--no, in fact, bronze--they foolishly rise nonetheless from the sticky bathroom floor (stay down! stay down!) and go the last round. Certainly glad to be used, lest they feel useless. Surely tickled by their own consciousness, yet often found unconscious. Watch for their signs in your moment of grace and hour of panic. Listen for their manifestos in your love-making. For what is it that these hot-blooded reptiles, these freaks of passion, lost and lost again, want? You, of course."

Zachary Oberzanâs latest collection of songs, Athletes of Romance, fiercely contemplates the longing of the human heart. What will satisfy our deepest yearning? Where do we land should the leap of faith fall short? Oberzan tackles these questions with the force of a linebacker and examines what he captures with the eye of a poet. His songs address our interactions and experiences using imagery that transcends the humdrum reality of our daily lives. And the question left to contemplate is, do we yearn in vain?

Top-notch talent has contributed to the production of Oberzanâs new album, including producers Steve Haggard, of Nashville's Wild Oat Records, and Robert Johanson, better known as a founding member of one of Bostonâs brightest bands, The Stairs. Manhattan's Mark Dann, a 25-year veteran of the music industry, mastered the CD.

Oberzan takes the adventurous listener on a Faustian, devil-be-damned journey across the landscape of human longing. He captures elusive emotions, pins them down, and draws their portraits for us to gaze upon in reflection. Although influenced by the likes of Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake, and Paul Simon, Oberzan maintains a unique and highly idiosyncratic voice. He is a keen observer of the isolation that unites us all.