Zeptepi - Stormclouds (Album)
You may have not have heard of Zeptepi before, but these Melbourne folk-rockers have been around for over seven years already. Their debut album Travelling Through Time was released in 2005, and since then they’ve been playing a string of regular sets throughout Melbourne's most respected venues (The Espy, Brunswick Hotel, The Tote, to name but a few), rarely going longer than a month without playing a gig.
Stormclouds is Zeptepi’s third full-length album - a mix of upbeat, fast-paced tunes, and slower, classic folk storytelling. It has good moments and bad, but the standout feature of this album has to be Hayley Andersons’ violin. It almost defines the music and brings all the elements together. It’s the kind of violin that, for some reason, always makes you think of Ireland – even if you’ve never been there and know nothing about it. It’s full of passion and energy, particularly on opening track “Come Home” and “The Falling of a Thunderstone”.
Singer Phil Dean, who hails from the UK, provides the lyrics, acoustic guitar, keyboards and mandolin (the man knows his way around his instruments), but whilst his voice has it’s Cat Stevens/Yusuf/whatever we’re calling him now moments, it does tend to sound a bit weaker on the slower tracks such as “The Loch Ard”.
Singles “The Ballad of John Green” and “The Soldier Song” are the highlights of the album, with well-arranged instrumentals backed by the traditional storytelling lyrical style that folk is known for. Both were tracks on The Ballad of John Green EP which was released at the end of last year.
Stormclouds isn’t a perfectly polished album, but it’s interesting and has some undeniably catchy tracks (if their style is what you’re into). Zeptepi obviously has a strong live reputation in Melbourne, but it’s a wonder why they’re not better known. Who knows, with the rising popularity of folk music brought about by international bands such as Mumford & Sons, maybe locals like Zeptepi just need a bit more exposure before they start to reap the benefits of this growing genre.
You can catch them at The Drunken Poet on 18 September, or at the 3-day Maldon Folk Festival coming up at the end of October.
