Pepper – Kona Town

I’m not sure what this CD is exactly. For those of you who know Pepper, then you will know that they released Kona Town back in March of 2002 on Volcom Ent.. So my question is, why is Atlantic Records promoting the album now in April of 2005? You know they’ve made some changes to the artwork as they show In The With Old (2004) and Live (2005) in the “Also available from Pepper” section. But other then that, there’s no word on whether its a re-release version of the album or what; but with this being my first listen to Kona Town, it doesn’t really effect the listening pleasure.

Just from listening to the album, you can hear that they are from Hawaii. The laid back reggae styles just brings forth images of relaxation on a mysterious island sitting on a sandy beach under the blistering sun. As Volcom Ent. proudly states, Kona Town is full of “smooth, liquid bass lines merged with a tapestry of island guitar, [and] fuel[ed with]explosive percussion to grab the heart and move your feet.”

They sound very similar to Sublime with the reggae, ska and punk mix laced with immature lyrics about sex (Why don’t u have some dirty hot sex with me?/ It ain’t I’m asking u to give it up for free/ O we can start it right now baby get on your knees/ Don’t make me beg again girl I just said please – Give It Up), having no friends (I got no friends/ None at all./ People think it’s funny/ but I don’t at all. –Face Plant) and girls (Don’t touch me girl until the song is done / And when I leave you’ll hear the song I’ve sung / That is the way I’ll have my fun. – Tongues). At times, they bring a slight mixture into the album with more pop-punkish songs like Give It Up which could easily be a Blink182 song form their Take Of Your Pants And Jacket album.

Most Pepper fans probably already have a copy of Kona Town in their collection at home, but probably haven’t listened to it much lately. The album isn’t spectacular, but it does make for a nice, smooth, listen – so maybe you should head into your collection and pull it out for a few more spins.