Meet the Deloreans -- Before Everyone Else Does

"Carbonistas" -- Metroschifter

First, some background for the uninitiated. In the early '90s, Scott Ritcher and his gang of skater friends started a record label called Slamdek, which released some of the better punk, hardcore and indie rock released in the first half of the decade. He fronted punk bands, the first called Sunspring and later called Metroschifter, and he was something of a local celebrity to the city's underground music scene, a perfect example of a guy who was all DIY. Ritcher has since decamped to Sweden, and “Carbonistas” shows much more anger and darkness than Ritcher has ever expressed in some 20 years of making music in Louisville. Ritcher's music was always loud and frantic, but never dark. “Sometimes I could murder the people who have hurt me/But I'd hate to stoop down to their level/And show them that I care,” begins the aptly titled “Murder.” Other songs include “It's All F---ed Up In Dixie” and “America Is a Prison.” Sure, lyrics aren't always a reflection of the writer's mindset, but Ritcher was always known to write what he feels — which is what drew angsty, smartass teens to him. “Carbonistas” is a most frightening album from the nicest Louisvillian expat in Sweden.