THE PUBES!

OFFICIAL NEWS SUMMER 2008

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We have just completed recording our THIRD album, THE SAD BURRITO! Expect it later this year
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***Peat Sounds; Reviews****
Peat Sounds, the second album from the Pubes, clocks in at just over 23 minutes, just enough time to cram in fourteen spry, infectious power-punk songs. The quartet continues to toe the line between winsome juvenilia and snotty, jerk-neck punk rock. It's a charming balance that the band has worked to cultivate, from the Beach Boys-saluting album title to the cutesy cartoon illustrations that adorn the liner notes. The Pubes reach for such a high level of twee-ness that it becomes subversive — even Belle & Sebastian wouldn't put pink bunnies and smiling froggies on an album cover.
It's hardly worth discussing the lyrics — singers Peat Henry and Mario Viele could sing anything over these quick, crunchy songs and it would work. In fact, that seems to be the working model for most of these songs — "Oven Burn" mostly exists as an excuse to shout "Jackie Joyner-Kersee" over and over, while "In the Bathroom" questions the authorship of the Rod Stewart hit "Downtown Train." (It was, as the song admits, written by Tom Waits. Who said punk rock isn't educational?) No, the album lives and dies on the strength of its riffs and the tautness of the rhythm section; by that measure, Peat Sounds is basically flawless. The band chugs through these tracks with as much glee as ability, a rare combo that makes the band a kind of punk-rock unicorn. In fact, that might not be a bad cover image for the next Pubes record.
--Christian Schaeffer, Riverfront Times
Ack! This band is toying with my emotions through the use of Snakepit-meets-Dr. Seuss cover art! I’m such a sucker for good cartoon-ey drawings that this band could play Jets to Brazil-esque crap, and I’d still think they’re pretty good. Attention pop punk devotees: This was recorded at Sonic Iguana! To the uninitiated, this means that it’s a.) pop punk, b.) guitar-happy, and c.) good! The music is your standard pop punk, but the lyrics? There’s the song “Squirrel Fight Pt 1” (“They go at it every night/Come on buddy, don’t be lame/Pay your dollar, state your name/I promise you’ll be glad you came/Get geared up for the big squirrel fight!”) and the song “Oven Burn,” which repeats the line “Jackie Joyner Kersey” over and over! Shameless copying of Ben Snakepit’s comic style? Songs about female athletes? If this were a cereal, it’d be those colored Rice Krispies that don’t exist anymore. Rice Krispies=standard fare, but different colors=silliness. I am dumb! –Maddy, Razorcake
This is good old-fashioned hardcore like I have not heard in a long while. The band has a sense of humor (the record title is an…umm…..homage to Beach Boys PET SOUNDS) and reminded me of bands both new(The Briefs) and old (T.S.O.L.) Mario Viele’s guitars are kicked into overdrive for nearly the whole record (14 songs in 23 minutes…like an old Circle Jerks record or somethin’) and in Peat Henry they have a vocalist who could beat Johnny Rotten at his own game (“Ever feel like you’ve been cheated?”). “Built My Dancin’ Feet”, “Wolf Oo-lo” and “Sweet Pea” are a few of my faves here and the guy who did the cover art deserves some serious kudos too. The best thing to come out of St Louie since Drunks w/ Guns (or Sex Robots)? ---Tim Henley, Dagger Zine