Zolof The Rock and Roll Destroyer

Popsicle (2004)

Hein Terweduwe

This Philadelphia band ends up being one of my nicer discoveries of 2004 in the soft work. Although there's no relevant connection with the harder bands in the punk scene, this band has played with lots of them in the past; an indication maybe for their gutsy approach. In recent years it seems like I have started loving female vocals in punk music. Zolof The Rock & Roll Destroyer at start had a male singer when they released their debut album on Break Even, but now is fronted by Rachel Minton, a girl with a cute, charming and sunny voice that fits well with the pop-punk sounds that this band provides. Her voice blends very well with the guest vocals of The Starting Line's Kenny Vasoli in the opening track and especially with those of the former Zolof and ex-Saosin singer Anthony in "This Was All A Bad Idea."

If you like Weezer songs with maybe a bit more catchiness and if you're into the Moog-synthesizer sounds of early The Anniversary, this is for sure one you should pick up. The two mentioned songs and "Crazy=Cute" are without a doubt the most interesting and more fun songs, while the calmer and sadder "Popsicle" sounded just a bit too boring to me. Maybe it's inevitable with these kind of releases though. Check them out, this EP to me came as unexpected as a crunchy sweet biscuit.