Zydepunks

It's not hard to figure out what kind of music New Orleans' Zydepunks play. Their name gives it away: a mixture of zydeco, punk, Cajun music, and Eastern European styles. It's an overwhelming mixture to comprehend, but it makes perfect sense that a band with such a wide range of...

By Michael Lopez

May 7, 2009

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It's not hard to figure out what kind of music New Orleans' Zydepunks play. Their name gives it away: a mixture of zydeco, punk, Cajun music, and Eastern European styles. It's an overwhelming mixture to comprehend, but it makes perfect sense that a band with such a wide range of musical influences comes from a city like The Big Easy. Relying more on their folk backgrounds, the members of Zydepunks pool together their exhausting past experiences into dark, somber lyrics. The Zydepunks newest album, Finisterre, finds the band singing in six different languages over tunes of Cajun punk, Yiddish riddles, and traditional Ecuadorian lyrics layered over Slavic melodies. It seems impossible to be as ambitious as the Zydepunks are — yet the band's sound exudes an effortless polish as if to say that incorporating such a wide array of styles is actually an easy task. What else can a New Orleans folk-punk band be, but culturally prolific in their sound? It's their destiny, and once that zydeco accordion kicks in, your destiny will not involve remaining still on the dance floor.

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