Label: Ape House/1969Rating: 4 Guns!!!!!
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Written By: PSG
“Giddy” says it all—this is a very light and upbeat album. There is definitely a feel of The Beatles (the early years, think “I Want To Hold Your Hand”). “Apples” belongs on an iPod commercial and Monorail should be advertising Wrigley’s Spearmint™ or something of the like. The lyrics are fun, quirky, very clever (check out “My Genius” for some great humor) and often rhyming like a schoolyard jump rope chant which gives it a great kidlike feel. This could have been a bad pop album if Pugwash had not handled it so well. Things like the pause at 1:19 in “Anyone Who Asks” and the multiple voices in “Sunrise Sunset” make this unique and sweet. This is the sound of what adolescence should be.
The two greatest songs on the album are easily “Clusterbomb” and “Black Dog.” Clusterbomb makes great use of the syllables of their lyrics, pairing them with music to imitate the sound of a bomb. The neat tinkly noise gives it a real exotic sound. Best of all, it sounds like there is some string music in the background there, always a cool mix when included on a mainly guitar album. “Black Dog,” Picks p the pace a little. Even as a darker song, it stays pretty light and in the theme of the album, which gives some depth to a not particular deep piece of work.
This awesome album poses a real question of is it good music if it does not say anything new or important? It is an old question, the answer pursued by artists and philosophers since the first Homo sapien drew a buffalo on a cave wall (or about that time, give or take a few 1,000 years). In this case, Pugwash proves that indeed, it is excellent music, even if it does not get too deep into the “human condition.”
Ars gratia artis.
If you liked Pugwash check out: Thomas Cunningham and Elan.
