It’s time for another one of those lil’ bands you’ve seen on the fag end of all-dayers, the chirpy punkers Pickled Dick to step into the spotlight. This six track EP is a collection of songs about cocks (not the male chicken variety), monkeys and other such vitally important lyrical subjects, but the vibrant melodies manage to make it stand out from the pack.
The only track lasting over two and a half minutes, ‘Extra Terrestrial’ opens the EP. Some really low key but still impressive bass doodlage leads into a pretty standard verse. However, my penchant for a simple melody kicks in as the vocals are nicely lilting without being overbearing, and allowing the pretty funny lyrics to shine through. As with the rest of the tracks, the sonic quality is somewhat poor but that’s to be expected from a small band such as this. It’s not as if it spoils the sound as a whole; in fact, you could argue it augments the sense of a dirty garage punk-esque band.
You thought the Mad Caddies had the monopoly on pirate-based punk? Hell no! ‘Ship Ahoy’ is a jaunty little ditty about, well drinking a helluva lot of alcohol. It’s bright and perky with a vocal melody in the middle that makes this song something better than the usual punk fare. It’s hardly brain surgery but who cares? It’s damn good fun, which is more than can be said for the next song, ‘£Twenty’. It’s just annoying and so vastly mediocre it hurts. And forgive me for being snobbish, but I really DON’T care if someone lost twenty quid.
EPs like this have a habit of putting the best song right after the worst, and this trend is not bucked. ‘Mike & Angelo’ is a horror story about a case of seriously mistaken identity after a night of binge drinking set to a Gash-meets-NOFX style verse and chorus. Once again, the twin harmonising vocals work superbly and contribute to the overall impressive nature of the song. Speaking of impressive, the final track is the subtle and restrained ‘Penis Song’. An ode to, well, someone’s dong, this optimistic and wishful song is a slow, lazy exercise in self-adulation before pulling its socks up and going a bit mental. It’s funny and takes itself about as seriously as a Spice Girl covering ‘Anarchy in the UK’ (hang on…), while at the same time being an example of fast, shouty punk designed to whip a pit into a frenzy of testosterone. Fab, in other words.
Let down at times by the simplistic and puerile lyrics, this EP is, in general, impressive. It’s like a more lo-fi Bad Religion (music-wise) being played by someone who finds Jim Davidson funny. I liked it but could imagine that if an entire album followed the same trends it could rapidly become very tedious. As an EP, it works. I just hope they can back it up with some more substance.
Ben.