First Listening

BRAD TENNANT
Athenaeum Staff

If Sprite is right, image is nothing. That means Pimpadelic is nothing, because all they have is a blatant image and no solid music. You see the band and you immediately realize they are an obvious knock-off of Kid Rock’s annoying white-trash style. The main problem is they don’t even do Kid Rock justice in this pre-manufactured album. Southern Devils would’ve been more aptly named Talentless Hacks. But for the sake of explanation, here is why they aren’t worth a go.
If you are in the market for a 4-inch, 12-page book of naked girls with some words scribbled around for 15 bucks, buy this album! It even comes with a free drink coaster (the CD). But it sets Pimpadelic’s image at least. If you are into untalented, satanic, pseudo rock-rappers from Fort Worth, Texas, might I recommend driving 1000 miles to Fort Worth and looking for another band. And I seriously doubt the validity of this group’s “pimping abilities.” In fact, I doubt that is even their real profession. But they couldn’t be any worse at pimping than they are at songwriting.
One of the worst things about the actual sound of the album is the editing. The vocals sound like Thursday night karaoke. The drums never sound anything but electronic, despite the fact that they have an actual drummer. Then you hear a very familiar guitar effect. What’s that? Is that the great ’70s rockers Boston? No, it’s a stolen effect used to trick you into listening to a very bad song. The hooks never have the effect of Kid Rock, and the riffs usually get old after the second repetition.
In the song “My Style,” they repeat the line “I never thought I was better than you.” This is as ironic as it is truthful. I could throw a cat on a piano and get better music. The rhythm is often nonexistent (vocal-wise), which is terribly pathetic considering this a half-rap album. There are 14 tracks and easily 5,000 words. But for some reason every song sounds and says the exact same. If I had the gas money I’d drive to Fort Worth and tell Pimpadelic they were about as cool as an appendectomy. Southern Devils is a bad album I recommend nobody purchase. Now let us never speak of them again.