David Thomas checks out the new album from Pepperkid2 for The Rock & Roll Circus. Pepperkid2 is the brainchild of Jem Davis of FM.
Pepperkid2 is the brainchild of Jem Davis, the tinkler of all things ivory (usually stage right, squeezed in between more keyboards than Casio could manufacture in a month) with long running UK rockers ‘FM’, (and Tobruk & UFO before that). A self-confessed result of mass writing sessions during lockdown and penning a series of tunes that would never sit within the FM vibe, Jem set about recording ‘Adventures In Pepperland’ along with friends Mike Dyer (Grand Slam) as the main vocalist/co-writer. Also appearing on the album is Dyer’s fellow Grand Slam band member guitarist Laurence Archer, along with Jem’s FM bandmates Jim Kirkpatrick and Steve Overland.
A commendable job has certainly been done by all.
There is a whole heap of everything lying deep within this. Yes, it’s a collaboration, yes there are mainstream rock anthems akin with some of FM’s nuances (it’s unavoidable), but hey this also slips right through to tracks that wouldn’t be misplaced on a late Beatles album. Very diverse, all very well penned and played.
It’s a proper project album this from start to finish, all about one man’s musical rambling’s and not about one man trying to sound purposely like anything (or anyone) in particular, and to be honest its bloody good on the ears for doing just that.
You get the distinct feeling that you are tuned in to ‘the man’, to his personal mashed-up melee of inspirations that over the years has defined him musically. You could probably deconstruct these songs (like Heston Blumenthal does with his minced pies) and end up with a long list of quite distinct ‘I can hear that in that song’ scenarios. It’s entertaining and charming because of the fact that it’s brutally honest.
You too can immerse yourself deeply into this man’s temporal lobe right now via Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Amazon, Deezer etc or grab a physical copy via their website "HERE"
The question is are you brave enough to step inside the mind of a man that can expertly cable up this lot, but forget to put his shirt on? I did and survived to tell the tail.
Review by David Thomas
Check out the video for - Somethin' Gotta Give!
Download the single "HERE"
Adventures of Pepperland is now available on all digital platforms and will be available in shops Friday 17th December.
Get your signed copy now (only a few left) of all Musicians involved @ www.pepperkid2.com
Ceri Davies
Presenter and Co-Director
