What I have realised is its American bands I do not know. Reviews have been requested for Neutral Milk Hotel, Sloan, mewithoutYou and Wrens and when the requests came in, I have instantly thought, who? Now let’s add Ween to the list.
Apart from a three year break thy have been together nearly forty years and White Pepper was released in 2000 although there have been no new records since 2007.
If you were sitting in a pub and this record was playing on the jukebox you would assume someone had chosen twelve random tracks from different records as we get psychedelic, punk, jazz, calypso, instrumental, pop.
Dean and Gene Ween (not their real names shock) have been the driving force behind the band and lead us on odyssey of music and the opening two tracks are psychedelic pop I thought Exactly Where I’m At was the better song but the guitar break in Flutes of Chi is exquisite.
Even If You Don’t start as if we are listening in on a jam and would not sound out of place on Jellyfish’s Bellybutton album. Then we hit calypso steel drum moment with the frankly bizarre, but I have decided brilliant Bananas and Blow with added female vocals and a cha cha cha ending. From that to hardcore punk of Stroker Ace, they do it well.
As usual I have read up on the band and this album did not initially go down well with long term fans as they had always enjoyed their juvenile approach and swearing, I can’t comment on that as this is their only record, I have heard but there is plenty to enjoy here.
The heavy opening of The Grobe with the altered vocals draws you in to the music with the vocals feeling like an additional instrument. From that heaviness we go to the jazz lite of Pandy Fackler although not sure many jazz lyrics talk of “sucking dicks under the promenade.” Have I used the word bizarre already?
Stay Forever is a beautiful strum along and Falling Out could be on a country album and they leave us on the reflective She’s Your Baby.
There are some that say the album title is based on The White Album and Sgt Peppers. I’d go more for Monty Python as this really is Now For Something Completely Different.
7.5/10
GIVE IT A STREAM: Bananas and Blow
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