Bloody, dirty, sexploitating, low-fi, violent, guttural, angry, thieving no good punks. Zombie Pool Party stings the nostrils, but only if you’re not drunk . . . or dead enough to notice.
Sounds like rock ‘n’ roll to me.
The horror punk/hip-hop/funk 5-piece is all about a good time, and the debut release from the Hollister/Morgan Hill troupe makes no bones about it (pun intended). Simply looking at the 70s, B-movie, cover art from their debut album, “Guns, Knives, and Kung-Fu Treachery”, says: Sex, Death, Party; let the guts fall where they may. ZPP comes at you hard, throwing down quick rhymes, distorted riffs, and funky licks, made for dancing, fighting, f*cking or any combination therein.
The lead-off track, “Mike Tyson and the Boys,” re-brands the classic Wu-Tang mantra, “ZPP ain’t nothin’ to f*ck with” in a bald-faced homage to one of the most formidable hip-hop groups of our time. In fact, “Guns . . .” feels like one big homage to the band’s most appreciated a/v experiences. ZPP makes a habit of splicing in movie audio bits to open many of their songs, while small musical references are dropped whimsically, if not appropriately. Songs like the California-inspired, post-mortem, “Dark World” trio (Parts I, II and III) and “Party in the Graveyard” are obviously influenced by horror movie devices. George A. Romero would be so proud.
Musically, the act drifts between genres, similar to bands like L.A.s Suicidal Tendencies or Infectious Grooves. Vocalists, Cody Sepulvida and Spencer Bonez spit rhymes, as well as lead oy-punk group shouts (e.g. “Panthers Hunting Snowflakes,” or “Party in the Graveyard”), guitarist Kyle Munoz alternates funk lines alongside his punk riffs (be sure to check the breakdown on “Boogie Shoes”). The DFL-esque drive of “Too Broke to Give a F*ck” and " Something in my Eye" go old school, with all the grit and slack a Cali punk band would ever need. But things gain a softer edge, as the record comes to close, with the pseudo-romantic/necrophilic feel of “So High” and “Dark World III” turning down the fury, and examining the lamentations of the infected.
"Guns, Knives, and Kung-fu Treachery” is a crazy good time; a West Coast party record through-and-through. A variation of styles appeals to just about any listener who loves bare bones rock, and ZPP is successful at showing their listeners continuity between genres, convincing listeners that no matter how loud the party rages, the band can always push it louder. The musical and movie references drip like flesh from undead teeth, creating a world where even in death, the party never ends.
Stream “Guns, Knives, and Kung-fu Treachery" via bandcamp.
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