The Zydepunks - ...and the streets will flow with whiskey (2005)

2005 - ...and the streets will flow with whiskey

Review of "…And the Streets Will Flow With Whiskey"
by "Barnacle" Brian Gillespie, shitenonions.com

It's almost October, and this is my choice for album of the year!

I've been waiting to hear this album for years. Even before I'd ever heard the album, or even heard of The Zydepunks, I've been wanting to hear Cajun-punk. I remember discussing the idea of starting a Cajun-flavored punk band with a few friends years ago as a joke, it sounded like a great idea. Too bad none of us had any clue about Cajun music, Zydeco music, or anything remotely close. We figured there were probably a few bands in Nawlins already doing it, and our discussion altered into who was buying the next round.

A couple of years later at a BBQ, I heard a Zydepunks song and got so excited, I attempted a drunken back flip, and landed on my head. lying upside down between the bushes, grass, a fence, and dog shit, at the edge of my buddies yard, I screamed "FUCK YEAH!" It was so original, fresh, and exciting. A totally new sound. I couldn't get enough. (True story!)

The Zydepunks like to call their flavor of music: Bayou Gypsy Punk. It's a combination of: New Orleans Cajun-Irish-Breton-Klezmer-Slavic-Zydeco, and let me tell you, since the BBQ, I've been listening to it non-stop. If the combination of genres isn't enough for you, maybe the combination of languages will wet your whistle. The Zydepunks sing in English, French, German, Spanish, Yiddish, and Portuguese. The album "And The Streets Will Flow With Whiskey" is all over the place. The placement of the songs seriously reminded me of listening to The Pogues album "If I Should Fall From Grace With God" for the first time. The songs are all over the place. You'll be smiling from ear to ear with an irresistible urge to dive nose first into a bowl of gumbo. (Maybe that's just me.) It's an album you'll play in it's entirety, you won't want to skip a track. After a description like that, what more needs to be said? A whole helluvalot.

I'm sure what happened to New Orleans, and the Gulf Coast is still in your thoughts. I'd like to happily mention that even if the members of The Zydepunks are temporarily scattered across the globe. (From North Carolina to Austria) Not even a fucking hurricane (Or two) will stop them, or their music. They'll be playing a Halloween show in Memphis, so make sure you support them when they come through your town. Even their CD's have been saved from the storm. So make sure you pick one up if you're lucky enough to see them live, or if you live too far away, you can order it from their website: http://www.zydepunks.com/store.php So, if you're looking to hear something somewhat similar to Celt-Punk, but with a spicy Cajun twist, I suggest picking up a copy right now, play it at a backyard BBQ, and keep an eye out for the village idiot attempting a back flip into the bushes.

Track Listing:

1.  Madeleine
2.  Satan
3.  Lowlands Of Baghdad
4.  A Fistful Of Oysters
5.  Bwamba's Rambles
6.  Eve's
7.  Tumbalalaika
8.  Reel & Jig Set
9.  Con ti sw va mi corazon
10. Romanian Hora & Bulgar
11. Johnny Can't Dance
12. Die Schwimmbadpiraten
13. Mabel's Got The Blues



I  have been listening to these guys a lot as of late so I figured I'd share.  I didn't bother looking to see if they were even posted anywhere else in the Blogosphere, so if you have no idea who The Zydepunks are, please do yourself a favor a check them out. 

Check them out on Myspace


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