Punk-well-done has always had, to me, a certain combination of frantic energy and good ol’ fashioned fun. Spooky London 5-piece, Zulu bring this and more with their debut ‘Way of The Zulu’ on Stroll On Records.
The record grinds into speed with slow gothic chords and fuzzy guitar tones which pick up and become the wicked ‘Do You Recognise’; a great horror number with vocals rrrrrolling off the tongue ala Bela Lugosi’s Dracula. This is a sound common across the rather short 20 minute record, but short and sweet is sweet nonetheless.
‘Sistine Chapel’ and ‘Now That We Are Here’ follow on the Scooby Doo soundtrack I always wanted to hear with excellent form. Both songs keeping the old punk format whilst carrying an extra something which I still can’t quite place. There’s certainly greatness in the guitar style in this record too, which keeps the interest at a real high. See also: ‘Incarcerated for Thrills’, which I have simply noted next to the title “choppy headnodding guitar riffery”. A bizarre yet fitting statement which I stand by. Furthermore, the lyrics are great for this one: “I don’t need money / but it needs me / the parasite that feeds”. I say here, but in fact, great lyrics aren’t hard to come by in ‘Way of The Zulu’ at all; whether it’s the rock-and-hard place ‘We’re Watching You’ “I don’t know where I stand / because there’s no middle ground / between the firing line / there’s a war going on outside” or the delightfully simple repetition of “I just wanna leave and be a zombie” in the closing track ‘Zombies’ (obviously).
That sense of humour I mentioned earlier comes along well with ‘The Book’, which I’m convinced is a tribute to ‘I Want Candy’ by The Strangeloves. But who knows? Maybe I’m hearing things… the lyrical delivery in this one could also be compared to my favourite surf-punk group The Cramps, with whoops and screams here there and everywhere.
The strengths of ‘Way of The Zulu’ are numerous; if you’re a fan of Bauhaus’ more aggressive material (e.g. ‘In The Flat Field’) and early Joy Division (back when they were a far more energetic band with a far less controversial name), you’re certainly in for a treat. The record is quick and Zulu have found a nice spot between your familiar punk catalogue, plus something new and witty that lures you straight back to the start again for another round. The limited edition cassette (please people, make more cassettes!) is now sold out but the EP is available on Soundcloud for free streaming and download, so they’re really catering to the old school dinosaurs and social media hipster kids alike. Don’t be confused, they’re not the same even if the hipsters will tell you they are! Zulu even promise more new demos “soon”, so keep your eyes open.
Seriously, go listen to ‘Way of The Zulu’ EP and check these guys out at one of their upcoming London shows.
Available now on Soundcloud.
Posted by Jake Murray.
