I’ve always been a little unnerved by Pickled Dick. I think it’s because of their horrific name leading to visions of a piss poor Blink 182 tribute and the fact they are worshipped by our good old elitist friends over at Punknews (just incase you missed it kids, my tongue was in cheek on that last comment…) that I’ve always been a little wary of checking them out. But here we are, a ‘new’ (as in released last year) record recorded by demi-God producer Peter Miles. And it’s pretty damn good. There are obvious old-skool Green Day references and passing nods towards bands like Screeching Weasel, but PD manage to throw plenty of melodies and choruses to update an older style of music that may have passed this generation by.
I think Pickled Dick standout from the pack because, well, there isn’t really a pack to stand out from with this kind of music anymore. Young kids starting bands no longer look to ‘Stranger Than Fiction’, ‘Punk In Drublic’ or ‘Dookie’ for inspiration, instead concentrating on which shade of black their hair should be and whether their full-sleeve tattoos resemble that of the guy in Avenged Sevenfold. PD’s substance-over-style attitude works wonders and makes ‘Panda-moanium’ a hell of a lot of fun. ‘Toodle Pip’ has so many harmonies it sounds great, ‘Ship Ahoy!’ had me singing along before the second chorus and ‘Go!’ is just plain old great.
Pickled Dick play with a smile on their face and that translates into 14 quickfire songs that have more hooks than many of their more famous American peers. Forget the silly name and get an education – these guys should be far better known than they already are.
www.pickleddick.co.uk
Paul