Damn Fool Music [LP]

Zatopeks - Damn Fool Music [LP]

“One night not long before the dawn of a new millennium I foundmyself in a West London pub sat across from a hyperactive 18-yearoldfrom South Ealing as he put away one pint after another inbetween telling me breathlessly about his plan to front a LookoutRecords-style pop-punk band.It was a tale I’d heard before, though not often with such enthusiasm.I almost felt bad that, having left Lookout Records the year before,I was no longer in a position to help this young man realise hisdream. On the other hand, I’d grown a little too jaded, a little toocynical, and I told him what I’d told many other musicians who’dapproached me with a similar idea.“I admire your ambition,” I said, “but the kind of music you’retalking about had its heyday years ago. Are you sure you haveanything new to add to the mix?”He argued with me, not just about music but about many otherthings as well. Though he hadn’t even started university, he wasextremely knowledgeable and articulate even when mistakenabout something (some of these questions remain under discussionto this day; I’ll let you know if we ever reach a conclusion).But when it came to the crucial matter, it was I who was wrong.Awfully, terribly wrong. If I thought there was little more to add tothe genre of music I’d been involved with; that young man, laterto be known as Will DeNiro (Professor Will DeNiro, as he’s nowknown; yes, he’s gained official authority to out-talk and out-argueme on any number of things) found a posse of similarly inclinedmusical geniuses, and together they formed the Zatopeks, plainand simply one of the best bands to come out of Britain this century.There are many things to love about the Zatopeks – their wit andintelligence alone sets them apart from many run-of-the-mill punkbands – but I’m especially fond of the way they add a hefty dollopof 50s rock and roll and doo-wop to the mix, and how they don’tshy away from vital political issues, both past and present, yetmanage to avoid beating you over the head with them.Although they started out in Britain, two out of the five Zatopeksnow live in Germany, having made their own reverse Brexit someyears ago. Their sound, though, can’t be fixed to any one timeor place: American influences abound along with the British andcontinental ones. They’re one of those rare bands that continuesto get better with age, and whose music continues to yield newtreasures on repeated listenings. That kid in the pub back in 1998may have had the last laugh on me by turning his crazy punk rockdreams into reality, but though I don’t usually enjoy being provenwrong, this is one of those cases where being wrong never feltso right.– Larry Livermore