It’s not too often that we associate face-melting guitar crunch with crying fits, but Zeroz (FKA Butterfly) aren’t like other bands. The Portland duo marries the sugar-rush pop hooks and guitar riffs of ‘90s alt-rock with modern hyperpop sensibilities and, well… sadboy tears. 

If The Breeders and Pinback had a baby inside a battered computer server that developed a serious case of the feels and binge-watched anime from within its own internal eye, it might sound something like Zeroz. 

Frontman / bandleader Aidan Christopher Haughey (who goes simply by Z, his character name in the Zeroz universe) explains:

When I first started writing “Monster E-Girl,” I’d just finished watching the anime series Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (AKA DanMachi), which I really, really liked, so I was crying a bunch. And I kept crying every time I’d listen to the song as I was putting it together, which has never happened. I’ve been working on it for almost a year, which I’ve never done for any other song. It’s just a really intense song. Plus, I cry more over anime than over anything else. 

The other songs on the album have a more clear lyrical and thematic intent, but this one’s more ambiguous. It may sound corny, but in anime there’s a lot of forgiveness and sacrifice and people overcoming their differences to make something better, even if the people are flawed. I’m not a total pessimist or anything, but the fact that you can see these worlds where you have these complex characters where lots of fucked-up things happen, but ultimately a lot of these characters sacrifice themselves. That touches me because, I mean, it sure would be nice to live in a world like that!

Lol is out October 19th!