The Homeless Gospel Choir

14s+ (under 16s to be accompanied by an adult over 18)

The Homeless Gospel Choir, the musical moniker of songwriter Derek Zanetti, has just released a brand new full-length, This Land Is Your Landfill on Hassle Records and A-F Records.

Since 2009 the Pittsburgh, PA-based project has mostly been a solo affair, rooted in Zanetti's blend of singer/songwriter intimacy and punk rock delivery, but the release of This Land Is Your Landfill marks a reinvention for The Homeless Gospel Choir. Driven by personal upheaval, Zanetti gathered an all-star cast of punk collaborators to create the kind of raucous, full-band album that he'd always dreamed of.

The Homeless Gospel Choir has shared a taste of this new direction with 'Young and in Love' a blast of fuzzed-out, '90s-inflected guitars and roaring bass that finds Zanetti paying tribute to the freedom that can come from artistic expression. The song reaches an anthemic conclusion with a triumphant refrain and vocal contributions from Zanetti's fellow musicians.

On This Land Is You Landfill, Zanetti is joined by Matt Miller (Endless Mike and the Beagle Club, Wingnut Dishwashers Union), Maura Weaver (Mixtapes, Ogikubo Station), Megan Schroer (Boys, Kitty Kat Fan Club), and Craig Luckman (Small Pollen, Belly Boys), along with producer Chris #2 (Anti-Flag, White Wives) and more, to help create a loud new chapter for The Homeless Gospel Choir. After the passing of his father, Zanetti sought a new kind of comfort from music--a need for big, cathartic songs, and the solace of the community he'd found in the punk scene.

The band's sound may have changed drastically but Zanetti's unique lyricism remains, and This Land Is Your Landfill deftly balances the personal (grief, ageing, selfperception) with the sociopolitical (environmentalism, toxic social media, the hate and ignorance fueled by the Trump administration). The result is an urgent album that captures The Homeless Gospel Choir as the punk rock family it was always meant to be.

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