Reviews

I first heard Pepper on my inaugural day working at a Volcom retail store. My first thought was, "This sounds a little like Sublime." Fast forward six months and my opinion of Pepper was, "someone shove needles into my ears," after hearing "Give it Up" around one thousand times. So when I got this CD to review, my first thought was, I'm so screwed.

Thankfully, Pepper doesn't come close to a song as annoying as "Give it Up." Plainly speaking, Pink Crustaceans... is a weekend CD to play at the beach or at the pool during a BBQ. For this album, based on what I've heard before, they don't stray from their comfort zone. However, this CD is a little more laid back and less frenetic than the other songs I've heard. As a three piece, the music is surprisingly full, though that may be the added effects for some of the songs. Listening straight through this album can be a pitfall for the casual listener - each song sounds similar on a basic level, so unless you're a deep listener, you might miss individual tracks and just hear it as one long song. That's what happened to me. I was on track four and then I looked back and I was on track nine.

The recording of Pink Crustaceans... is light, there aren't many deep tones, even the bass doesn't dip too low. It assists in the breezy feel of the album, which almost sounds as if it was recorded live with room microphones. The band really shines during their instrumentals. I almost wish to just have a CD of instrumentals by Pepper.

Each band usually follows a style and then branches out from there to encompass other influences. Pepper are firmly entrenched in the reggae, ska, and rock styling they play and they have no reason to really move beyond that. Pink Crustaceans and Good Vibrations in classic Pepper and that's fine.