Album Review: Bazooka – Zero Hits (Inner Ear Records)

Bazooka were formed in 2008, in Volos, Greece where Centaurs were living, consisting singer/guitarist Xanthos Papanikolaou, guitarist Vasilis Tzelepis, drummer John Vulgaris, keyboardist/drummer Panos Papanikolaou and bass player Aris Rammos.

In the same year they relocated to Athens to pick up live gigs, and while the country and it’s capital city were undergoing a severe economic crisis an underground musical renaissance flourished through a multitude of DIY squat venues that hosted the city’s best punk and psych-rock bands.

Bazooka were quickly found to be the most primal and savage crew of the incredibly corrosive rock’n’roll scene. They have followed-up their 2017 raw fuzzed-out 12″ EP Zougla (Jungle) with Zero Hits, out now via Inner Ear Records.

There’s a lot to this album. Not just the amount of tracks (14) but the amount of raw elements that Bazooka add into their pot of garage punk rock. On the one hand they sound like a bunch of pals having a good time just jamming while on the other they sound tight and professional.

The band are certainly swimming in ideas. A lot work but some don’t. It’s a fun record though as we get tracks like Keno (Void), with its ska-infused bounce. Eho Kourasti (I’m Tired) and its very unusual rhythm and Min Kitas Piso (Don’t Look Back) with its strumming guitar, keyboard melody and challenging vocals.

It’s not a punk record in the old-school style. More in that it has a really rough and unrefined sound a lot of the time. It has way more groovy, booty-shaking and foot-tapping tracks then you might expect.

However, it’s a little too long. You might think with this description of the album that most of the tracks are short, barely passing the 2 minute mark but that’s not the case. In fact all but 3 of them go over the 3 minute mark making Zero Hits begin to feel like a slog once we reach Soultana (Soultana).

It doesn’t change the album being a breath of fresh air at first though and if you like your garage rock/punk to be varied and a bit unusual then Bazooka will deliver.

Bazooka – Zero Hits Full Track Listing:

1. Ela (Come)
2. Filaki (Prison)
3. Keno (Void)
4. Monos (Alone)
5. Oi Vlakes Kanoune Parelasi (Idiots Are Going On Parade)
6. Eho Kourasti (I’m Tired)
7. Mesa Stin Poli (In The City)
8. Kati Eho Prodosi (Something I Have Betrayed)
9. Vradini Vardia (Night Shift)
10. To Hroma Tou Trelou (The Colour Of A Crazy Man)
11. Adiafores Maties (Indifferent Glances)
12. Min Kitas Piso (Don’t Look Back)
13. Soultana (Soultana)
14. Ta Spao Ola (I Break Everything)

You can stream and buy the album over on Spotify, Bandcamp and iTunes. Find out more by checking out their Facebook Page, Twitter and Instagram.