Handclaps & Bottlecaps,
Zatopeks
‘Handclaps & Bottlecaps’ is a split vinyl release featuring the Zatopeks and The Copyrights, released through It’s Alive Records. The twist here is that these two pop punk bands have thrown their amps away and turned this into an acoustic extravaganza.
It is always a brave move for bands to strip their songs down to their core and to literally let their music do the talking, and I’m pleased to say that both pass with flying colours. Zatopeks are a band that I am very familiar with, and their two tracks here only confirm what I already know about them; namely that they are one of the most underrated bands in the UK at the moment. They lose a bit of impact without their amps but the quality of their song writing shines through on both ‘Death and the Hobo’ and ‘Turkish Bread Chronicle’. Now The Copyrights, by complete contrast, are a band I’ve never had the pleasure of hearing before. Both ‘Forever or Today’ and ‘Help Me Stay Awake’ are well constructed songs with great vocal harmonies. I have the feeling that with the amps turned up these guys are even more impressive and I’ll be doing my best to track down some more material as soon as possible.
‘Handclaps & Bottlecaps’ is a great little release that has the ability to both reaffirm your faith in a band and introduce you to a new one. Zatopeks and The Copyrights prove there is a lot more depth to the humble pop punk genre than you may think and thus this is well worth seeking out.
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