Damn those punks! Whoa Oh Records definitely has a soft spot for this mid nineties punk sound. Compared to the recently reviewed LOST LOCKER COMBO these guys are not bad at all.

The album kicks off with the two typical uptempo melodic punk tracks "Radio Maryja" and "Ta Life", not exactly re-inventing the wheel, as they pretty much sound like typical like Fat Wreck-type fare. Vocalist deNiro sounds uncannily like Fat Mike from NOFX on some of these tunes.

But just as I was getting that "been there, heard it all before" feeling, THE ZATOPEKS show some real depth, delving into a nice acoustic number "Picture Postcards" with some female vocals. Then all of a sudden, with "Daily Mail" they switch to a jazzy lounge tune. Skokie Venom from former Dutch pop/punk heroes TRAVOLTAS lends some keyboard and vocal arrangements to the mix, and his contribution becomes obvious in "Jumble Sale" with that typical sort of Hammond sound. "I Don't Want the Airwaves" returns to West Coast style, "747" seems to wander into English territory, and "Courtyard Blues" offers another acoustic gem.

As long as ZATOPEKS continue to play the poppy punk rock, it's doubtful they'll deliver anything earth-shattering in terms of originality. But roughly half of the tracks presented during "Damn Fool Music" exhibit an ability to look beyond the familiar. In those songs the band sounds rather playful, even capable of tearing down some punk walls. Maybe they will with the next record.

- Michels

OFFICIAL SITE: myspace.com/zatopeks

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