Along with the excellent 1982 Zero Boys LP Vicious Circle (reviewed here), Secretly Canadian are also reissuing History Of, which is a document of the Indiana hardcore band that - frankly - I know next to nothing about. It consists of 19 songs, two of those being alternate versions of "New Generation" and "Livin' in the 80s", both of which appeared on Vicious Circle. These alternate versions, unfortunately, lack the fury of the album versions, the instruments sounding much more tinny but the vocals much louder, which creates a curious effect. While the album versions are far superior, it's still interesting to hear these ones, and it will be especially so for any real followers of the band who haven't heard them before.The material here that didn't appear on Vicious Circle doesn't hang together into a raging, cohesive whole in the way that album did - this isn't surprising given the increased bulk that History Of entails, but it's also partly because this disc is a much more patchy affair. Less than half the tracks could really be said to approach Zero Boys' best, but those that are good are very good - from the nervy, existential horror of "Human Body" to the cantering and hazy "Amerika". The flipside means, of course, that for every track as strong as these there is at least one where the spark seems missing. Songs like "Inergy" and throwaway "Dingy Bars Suck" just don't keep you coming back for more - energetic they may be, but they lack that vital, essential and enthralling sound that the better songs - and the ones on Vicious Circle - display.Zero Boys are definitely a band worth looking into, still sounding exciting and relevant on their best songs, but whether or not newcomers will look beyond the superb Vicious Circle and test the rather less thoroughly inviting waters of History Of will depend on the strength of their devotion either to this particular band or the "history of" 1980s hardcore punk in general. 64%mp3:>Â Zero Boys: 'Livin' In The 80's'Zero Boys official website