Pepe Polo

Love the great retro sound to this indie garage rock band out of Columbus, OH, that plays to me like the tambourine-jangling love-child of 70s glam and 90s grunge. Minimal but room-filling, emotional rock instrumentation from guitars, bass and drums topped with reverby, harmonized male/female vocals. Could also be described, and has been, as psychedelic surf rock. Nice and gritty but goes down smooth! Reviewed this on vinyl - recommend it. RIYL Velvet Underground, Lou Reed, Nirvana, The Pixies. Many great tracks, but my favorites are 1, 4, 5, 6 and 9. No discernable FCCs.

SIDE ONE
1. *”Bastard” (2:16) Starts with driving percussion and jangly, dark, surfy guitar and male/fem harmonizing vox. Interesting beat variations. Tambourine!
2. “Song About a Woman (2:02) Starts with a quiet guitar riff (don’t fade in) – then comes in loud, driving, percussive, more repetitive. Harmonizing male/fem vox, like folked-down punk with a sweet side.
3. “Old” (2:33) Begins with Nirvana-like grunge guitar riff. Almost Iggy Pop or Lou Reed feel, though after that. Mid/fast tempo. Nice solo guitar and male/fem vox.
4. **”Cricket” (3:37) Guitar/tambourine really stand out here. “Darkest thing you’ve ever done…” Delightfully dark lyrics, great combo of melodic and underlying sinister quality. Starts slow but speeds up near the end with on cue from rising vocals – watch levels! Guitar solos. “Now I’m gonna bleed you dry.”
5. ***”Winds” (4:12) This is my favorite! Sinister, plodding start w/chords, bass, and tambourine like a funeral march and some killer guitar strums on top. “It’s comin’ to getcha!” Fem dom. vox. Slow/mid tempo – like a song for the reaper – picks up to mid/fast.

SIDE TWO
6. **“Smack” (2:31) More upbeat, positive vibe – male/fem vox come in after guitar/tambo intro. Song about emancipation from chains of love.
7. “The Way That You Are (2:03) Faster song, more punk. Raw, straightforward, driving, repetitive (not in a bad way). Vocals spat out, less clear – punk-like.
8. “Wine” (2:26) Head-bobber! Almost anthemy chords with some good guitar wailing. Chorus more pronounced in this one – nice bass/perc breakdown builds back to full.
9. **“Ah Ah Ah” (3:12) Starts quiet – don’t fade in! Mid-tempo, foot-tapping, good-feelin’ with a lighter touch edged with the periodic takeover from the lead guitar.
10. “Stop Dying So Much” (3:19) A peppy start with heavy tambourine belies the somber lyrics that soon enter (see title) – it’s their specialty, I think. 60s vibe, like the flower children on their dark come-down days. Driving beat amps up to high speed. WARNING – speeds to a stop but it’s not over! Wait for the last bit that comes down to the first tempo.