photo courtesy of the Peppermint Kicks via Knyvet

Album Review of The Peppermint Kicks: Pop Rocks in My Chewing Gum (Rum Bar Records)

The Peppermint Kicks are Boston duo Sal Baglio (The Amplifier Heads, The Stompers) and Dan Kopko (The Shang Hi Los, Watts), who according to the credits both seem to play the same instruments – so I guess it varies by song – though only Kopko is listed as playing bass. They’re also accompanied by a trio of top drummers, varying by song: Kevin Rapillo, Chris Anzalone, and Napoleon Hashimoto.

The Peppermint Kicks’ Pop Rocks in My Chewing Gum is modern pop-rock with its roots firmly in the early days of rock and roll, carrying a ’50s/’60s Dick Clark’s American Bandstand vibe throughout the record, though to be fair, the same stylistic elements were popular in pop-rock music as late as the ’80s, so the Peppermint Kicks’ musical style is actually pretty timeless. The result of the band’s latest recording session, Pop Rocks in My Chewing Gum, is a fun, imaginative, rockin’ romp centered around this type of timeless rock ‘n roll. The biggest modernization is some of the wildly raucous guitarwork, so yeah, this isn’t throwback music, but it is throwback-inspired. Smash Mouth did the same sort of things on a few songs of their Astro Lounge album, though not exactly the same way. (They’re different bands, after all.) But Smash Mouth’s “Diggin’ Your Scene” and, to a little lesser extent, “Who’s There” and “Radio,” carry the same sort of throwback vibe you’ll find on this record. As for a comparable band with a longer run as a major act, this is the sort of sound you’ll hear from Cheap Trick from time to time, too. The Peppermint Kicks also seem to infuse a punk rock energy into these songs, certainly moreso than any of the comparison bands I’ve mentioned.

image courtesy of Knyvet

The first track, and the first single from the album, so I’ve been listening to it the longest, “Radio Wam Bam Boom” is probably my favorite song on the album. Not by much, mind you. But the quick-starting throwback energy, the old-school city callouts, and the brief radio DJ interjections all combine to make for a fun romp (there’s that word again!) that makes it an ideal first single, concert-opener, or otherwise first exposure to the Peppermint Kicks.

“Too Sweet (Oh Yeah)” follows as an equally fun number – sometimes this is my favorite on the album! – with a little slower tempo and a sound and lyrical tempo that recalls The Archies’ “Sugar, Sugar,” though the Peppermint Kicks are much faster-tempoed and harder-rockin’, so consider that a stylistic comparison, not a “sounds-like” one (because I’m not puttin’ an Archies song on my personal playlist, but this one’s absolutely getting added). Still, you get similar feels. Listen, too, for the album title in the lyrics, as “Too Sweet (Oh Yeah)” is where that line resides.

“Number One Record” has a little more distortion in the main guitar lick, and it carries more modern alt-rock influences than I’ve led you to expect from my overarching overview of this record’s sound. “Number One Record” could’ve blended into pop-rock radio rather seamlessly in the ’90s or ’00s. Again, as is the case throughout the album, this song has a timeless sound, but those are the decades I feel it would have been less conspicuous on radio playlists.

“Little Doll (Picola Pupa)” infuses the Peppermint Kicks’ sound with the most punk rock energy in this collection of songs, with a rougher, edgier vocals and more ragged guitars than on any of the previous tracks.

“Shangri La” slows things down and gives me the strongest semi-balladic Cheap Trick vibes on the record. “Lollipop Girl,” next, reminds me of what you’d get in this musical style if you had someone from ELO as a cowriter. (Jeff Lynne wasn’t involved in this project, was he?) “Out of the Trashcan and Into Your Heart,” next, returns to a more pure throwback style, replete with “oo-oo”-ing, though with some inspired lyrics.

Next, the Peppermint Kicks take on retro animation with a pair of ’60s cartoon-themed numbers – the boomingly campy “Gigantor” and the equally throwback (but no, not quite as campy) “Speed Racer.”

“We Did It All For Rock and Roll” is the penultimate track – or the final song, depending on how you look at it. This tune is the one that recalls the Beatles more than any other on the record, swaying along pleasantly, sung tunefully, and with a feeling of big, wide-open rock ‘n roll spaces.

And what did I mean about “depending on how you look at it”? Well, the album’s final track is “Tout Fait,” which is really just a 44 second-long tinny fadeout of “We Did It All For Rock and Roll.” So, you know, another track but not really another song.

Beginning to end, Pop Rocks in My Chewing Gum is a fun listen with a nostalgic-feeling, pop-friendly rock ‘n roll style. If that’s your vibe, this is your kind of album. And if that isn’t your vibe, I have just one question for you: Are you allergic to fun? If not, perhaps reconsider.