(3 Out of 5)

I feel it’s important to state that I am a big Pepper fan and my excitement over the release of Pink Crustaceans and Good Vibrations was huge, however, in the end I was a tad let down.  By no means is the band’s fifth studio effort a complete let down, yet in my opinion it does not trump their previous record, No Shame, which was some of Pepper’s best work to date.

Pink Crustaceans offers a lot of reggae-driven groove, however, little variation on the formula.  “Davey Jones Locker” has a definite Sublime-like sound to it, while “Blackout,” a collaboration with Randy Bradbury of Pennywise, is Pepper’s in-your-face punk rock song.  As a whole, Pink Crustaceans is cohesive, yet lacks some of the hook-filled memorable songs that this critic has come to love.

Stand out tracks on the record include fun and airy “Musical 69” and the driving groove filled “Lucy.”  Street Drum Corps collaborated on “Things That You Love” and “Ambition,” which give the tracks multilayered sounds that the band could not have pulled off on their own.

Ultimately, this record was put out on the band’s own Law Records and because of this DIY approach, it seems that something is missing in the end.  No matter what though, Pepper always offers up a party and I’ll continue to stand by them as a fan.

Suggested Listening: “Do Something,” “Lucy” and “Musical 69”

By: Adam K. Zak III - Senior Editor / Founder