Catchy UK pop punk apparently influenced by the sounds of early rock‘n’roll with a smattering of Tom Waits-ish sensibility. There’s an air of retrospective sentimentality to this, in the sense of “Where have all the good days gone when greasers spent Friday nights getting into fights?” and rock‘n’roll was still fresh and simple. Based on the mood on this record, the Zatopeks are hard-charging, looking to rock above all else, but they seem to be a bit ill-at-ease in a modern world that doesn’t always appreciate the beauty of simplicity. The lesson here is that there can (and should be) excitement in the seemingly mundane, be it a three-chord tune or chance meetings that seem innocuous at first but still haunt us for reasons unknown.
–Eric Carlson (Stardumb)