Hot Pink Turtle
ticklewigglejigglepickle
Reviewed by Andrew Crump
From flowing funk to groovy grooves to chunky chugs back to funk, to grooves, to chugs, funk, grooves, chugs, funk, grooves, chugs, time changes, melody changes, heavy changes, soft changes, changes, changes, changes, more changes and more changes -- it's non stop excitement that'll make your ears spin!
ticklewigglejigglepickle is a maze of swirling sounds that seem to change with each whirl of the disc. While there are resemblances to Dig Hay Zoose's Zepplin/Chili Pepper riffs, Hot Pink Turtle seems to go to the extreme on both sides of today's music vibe with some soft pop rhythms as well as some Galactic Cowboy type grit and grunge flushed within their tunes. Over this cyclone of noise there are some cool and refreshing vocal melodies and harmonies. With all these sounds whirled into one, a pleasing chaos is created with arrangements that flow smoothly with no awkwardness. Hot Pink Turtle has created a world where nothing is predictable, but everything unexpected soothes the soul.
"Hideous" starts the disc off with thick and heavy grooves glazed with clean vocals. "Myisci" begins with soft, flowing rhythms that hint of a blowing storm. And, as hoped for, the storm blows with tons of aggression. "A Lil' Groove" is a cool little groove that backs its way into a nifty sort of psychedelic beach vibe. "A Boat and His Boy" -- whoa -- bounces all around with some sporadic Galactic Cowboys' riffs that grind.
"Guntistha Garden" goes from one extreme to the other with its soft mood swings to its one ton (again, sporadic) Cowboys' grind. It returns once again to its soft mood swings, then to funk, to grooves, to chugs, from soft melody changes to heavy changes, changes and more changes. It sounds like a medley of the history of rock and roll. There is one part in the song that slows to a peaceful quite, and then without warning, a hurricane of sound blasts through -- enough to cause pant wettage.
Lyrically, the album is spiritually bold and continues with the creativity displayed through the music. The band didn't short change the listners by writing shallow, tooth fairy lyrics to accompany their brainy and zany rhythms. The words encourage as well as challenge.
This is a storm of sound to leave the windows open for. Let the wind blow through the soul.