Zapoppin': Live At The Curse

What do you need for a night of off-kilter freaky folk music with a punk attitude? The two remaining members of Zapoppin' beating the Hell out of a Hohner Symphonic 32 and a drum set at The Curse, a fabled Cornish underground venue, should cover it.

Brace yourself for half an hour of chaotic goodness touching base with the 13th Floor Elevators, Pere Ubu, Butthole Surfers, The Pogues, The Birthday Party, free-from jazz, anti-folk, New Wave. Ever wondered what Ray Manzarek would have sounded like had he been an English guy raised on a diet of Tom Waits records? Playin' The Fool is the correct answer. Also, Joe Meek would have loved their instrumental Theme From A Spelling Bee. Zapoppin's set is like being caught in the midst of frantic, friendly fire. Resistance is futile.

HCTF's best of 2016 (15-11)

Where's ...
David Bowie, Radiohead, Nick Cave? Or that album that you liked so much?

Simple. HCTF picked the 20 best albums that were actually reviewed on this blog.

HCTF lists the 20 albums that will be in regular rotation for many years to come.

2016 was a memorable year for music lovers.

• Vinyl is back.
• The majors are still running around in circles, trying to keep their cashflow alive.
• streaming is now big business (for the artist not so much).
• "Self-released" has become a regular tag. Even big time acts go for crowdfunding to cover the costs of making an album, sometimes aided by a small network of indie labels to carry the load of distribution.
• Software is catching up with the studio as a means of home recording - untrained ears will have a hard time to hear the difference.

One thing will never change: independent music is where it's at when you are on the look out for something interesting to listen to.

Sadly some of the greats are no longer with us - David Bowie, Prince, Leonard Cohen as well two of the finest sidemen - Scotty Moore and Bernie Worrell. As 2016 drew too a close underrated Stus Quo rhythm guitarist Rick Parfitt and singer George Michael also checked out.

Today: countdown from number 15 to 11.

Go here for 5-1 | 10-6 | 20-16.

Zapoppin': St Kreun - Songs of Land and Waterways

BEST OF 2016
12
HCTF

Freak folk punk powertrio Zapoppin' tell tales from an imaginary village on their new album St Kreun - Songs of Land and Waterways. Quite opposite of gentle pick nick music - they are more likely to crash your party, drink your liquor and devour away your choice tidbits within the blink of an eye.

Dissonants galore, singing out of tune, random vocal outbursts, it's all there and more. There is method in their madness though. It requires quite a bit of skill to play this kind of tight, atonal ugly music. If you ever wondered what a mix of The Clash, The Pogues, Nick Cave, Tom Waits and Johnny Dowd would sound like, the answer is Zapoppin', the weirdest act roaming the streets of Falmouth, Cornwall. Dust off your pogo kills and dance the night away.