Posted on: January 12, 2011 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

“Flesh” reminds me of a Devo track. The same sort of angular post-punk rock is present in both the classic Akron band as well as PepperDome, but there are noticeable differences between the former and the latter. Key of these would have to be an appreciation of all the music to come out after the former – hints of Gogol Bordello, Reel Big Fish, and even Against Me! can all be heard in this sub-three minute track. “Chaos Point” is a track that defies convention, using a very freeform jazz sort of time signature use while draping that framework in a rockabilly meets Wall of Voodoo type of sound. Throwing in brooding guitar lines a la “Bedtime for Democracy”-era Dead Kennedys, PepperDome ensures that the titular track on “Chaos Point” will make a big splash.

“Everyone Tell Me” keeps listeners guessing about the band’s influences and loves, as the mid-track arrangements will immediately remind listeners of Pantera’s “Cemetery Gates” blended with hints of “Pablo Honey”-vintage Radiohead. Shifting tempo considerably through the track, listeners are dropped off at a place that is considerably different than they were at the beginning of the album. “I Know” is the track on “Chaos Point” that allows fans of mid-nineties alternative rock to rejoice. While that piece of PepperDome had been bubbling throughout the whole of “Chaos Point”, the band makes it a focal point of the track.

After reviewing thousands of different releases over the course of the last 12 years, it becomes extraordinarily difficult to find releases that are innovative or different from the normal in any substantive way. However, the six pieces that comprise “Chaos Point” paint a picture of a band that marches to a considerably different drummer. I would personally like to see the band live, as I feel that it would give yet another scintillating look to the band. This EP has no comparison; pick it up if you’d like to understand what listeners thought when they bought their first Velvet Underground or Suicidal Tendencies album.

Top Tracks: Chaos Point, Everyone Tells Me

Rating: 8.0/10

PepperDome – Chaos Point / 2011 Self / 6 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/pepperdome

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