I'd almost forgotten about Hawaiian ska-reggae-punk band Pepper.
It seemed like they had all but disappeared from my life, aside from the odd pointless 'bands in town' demand emails I kept getting over the last few years.
Luckily though, whilst using Spotify's awesome 'discover' feature, I stumbled upon the new Pepper album, Ohana.
I love it.
It's got all of the elements I love Pepper for - with the exception of the departure of their more ska-punky songs.
It's laid back, full of summer vibes, yet still full of bouncing ska/reggae infused energy. The lead vocalist has one of the best voices I've ever heard - when I originally discovered Pepper many years ago I was convinced it was Brad from Sublime doing vocals!
As I said, this review is super quick, but my favourite tracks on Ohana are:
Reckless
Start You Up
Wait
Big Mistake
2008 was their last album 'Pink Crustaceans and Good Vibrations' - and not a great one at that, with a half decent e.p 'Stitches' in 2010. They allegedly released a self titled album in 2013, but I can't find any concrete evidence of this.
Anyhow, Ohana is great, and in perfect time for the summer. 6 out of 7 from me.
