It’s been a while, hasn’t it?  This past month and a half has been interesting to say the least.  Work has been non-stop, school has been demanding, but just finished, said goodbye to friends that moved across the country, said goodbye to a friend and family that are no longer here, computer crashed and had to get a new hard drive, and also Hurricane Sandy.  I didn’t have power for at least four days!  Yet, through all of this, I still kept moving.  Even though I feel I have lost a lot in the process.  Also I still managed to get new vinyl in my life, can’t forget about that.

Which brings me to The Pepper Pots.  Before Train to Your Lover, there was Now!  Another album filled with some great soul music fronted by three amazing singers.  This album though has some ska songs sprinkled in at the right moments.  I later found out that The Pepper Pots’ back catalog had more ska/reggae songs.  In more recent releases they started incorporating the soul sound, and I am not complaining.

Now! hits all the right subjects for soul music.  Love, heartbreak, romance, and of course dancing.  Pepper Pots had moved in the ranks as being one of my favorite bands.  I should also mention that prior to buying their music, I only knew one song.  I took a chance on these gals and guys and I never regretted it.  With songs like “You’re Still in My Mind”, “Talk to Me”, and “Highway”, you can’t help but want to find someone to just dance and fall in love.

“Baby,
You’re still in my mind,
Baby,
When I close my eyes,
Baby,
You’re still in my mind,
Baby,
I need you.”

“Time to Live” is featured on this album and is the first song I heard by the Pepper Pots.  With the beginning bass line, closed high hat cymbals, and bass drum starting the song, I can’t help but start bobbing my head.  The song then leads into a song of hope.  Hope in moving on from the one that hurt you.  A perfect song to put a smile on your face after a bad break up.

“I want to run along the streets,
Feeling the things I never felt,
I’m going live my own, thank you,
I want to follow just my heart,
Live in the moment night and day,
I want feel the music flow through my veins.”

The song “Young Girl” is directed towards females.  The song is to be taken as advice to watch who you date because you never know what the guy is like.  “Keep Waiting” sounds like a song straight out of the 60’s, while “Dream Guy” and “Starlight” are infused with a ska/reggae sound.

As I said before, I took a chance on the Pepper Pots from one song and since then I have been obsess.  If you like music and are on the fence about this group, just stop and listen to one song.  You will see this is real music.  The time is Now!

Just like the other vinyl, I had to order this directly from the Pepper Pots out of Spain.  It took a while to get to me, but was in perfect condition.  The vinyl is packaged as a standard vinyl with a digital download card.  I will say the album as a digital download could have been a little better.  The sound quality isn’t the best.  The cymbals have that streaming like sound, but the digital album did come with a bonus song called “Take a Chance”.  The song is ska influenced and can sum up how I feel about the Pepper Pots.  Just take a chance and you will see.

Visit here to buy vinyl:  www.thepepperpots.com
Listen to “Real Tru Love”: http://recordkicks.bandcamp.com/track/real-tru-love