Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
Give the lame name a chance and Poop Yer Pants' debut album is actually quite a trip. Head songwriter and performer Ken Adam creates dramatic, enjoyable folky pop songs heavily influenced by the likes of Pavement and Sparklehorse. This disc is filled with simple folk ballads, intense rock songs, and even a bit of electronic experimentation. The first part of the album is consumed with the more pop/rock material; "Reins" and the wonderfully intense "In The Dark" are clear-cut winners, each brandishing winning choruses and really nice dynamics. The Pavement-esque "Simple," meanwhile, could be the disc's "single." On the folkier end, "Frisco Man" and "Chester and Johnny" are immediate successes; these songs are a nice platform for Adam to prove his varied talent as a songwriter. The more electronic and unusual "Everglader" is a bit bland and self-indulgent, though "Dry Ice" is a relatively entertaining listen. As a whole, this disc marks the first chapter in Poop Yer Pants' promising career. I like what I'm hearing.
85%
Matt Shimmer
- indieville.com
By Derek Blackmon
A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but a band by any other name would be a blessing. At first glance I thought Poop Yer Pants self titled debut was merely some anonymous Adam Sandler side project that would be as wretched as the man himself, but that was not to be the case. Comprised mostly of the efforts of Ken Adam, Poop Yer Pants gives us a peek inside the mind of one man with a few close friends helping out in the process.
Crap and fart jokes just haven’t been funny since the campfire scene in Blazing Saddles raised the bar too high to ever be matched or exceeded (fortunately), so it was initially a disappointment to see the name alongside a cover shot of a dog’s privates. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no prude. I just fail to see the merit in the potential shock value.
The lyrics hold up surprisingly well considering they are somewhat political and social in nature, and overall the music is held to the same standard. Opening with “Stupid All The Time,” a Violent Femmes-flavored spit in the face of elitism and all of its insecurities, gives this album the initial sense of hope that it needed to regain my attention. It even comes equipped with an apparent jab at the President’s daughters. Nothing could be sweeter.
“Reins” is a punk-inspired motivator to keep up the good fight against the Man:
They're not gonna keep coming upright forever
we're not gonna keep shouting big brother forever
Oh yeah, you’re preaching to the Choir now!
“In The Dark” felt good, and the steady guitar sounded like something missing from Doves’ The Last Broadcast. An excellent thing indeed.
“Greensox” was a nice surprise, considering it’s basically a song about avoiding being ticketed for having your dog on the beach. Assume for a moment that dogs surely roamed the beaches before our regurgitated syringes washed up on them, and you may agree that some laws are as absurd as the people hired to enforce them.
The high water mark came during the creepy “Everglader.” With its layered sounds of nature and the trilling of cicadas, this one amounts to a lovely reminder of how sinister, vicious and unnecessary the state of Florida is:
Dusty moonlit road goes south
pull off to get the tangles out
tell me it was you just now
that touched me 'cause no one is around
Poop Yer Pants has its moments, and for a debut release there is definitely some relevance and possibility here. My only suggestion is to rely less on the playful mannerisms and use the subject matter to its full effect. The potential is evident; this just needs to be more full-on.
- indie-music.com
Ken Adam pulls out the dorm rock and apartment indie pop stops overcoming the juvenile name of the project. His music, while certainly lo-fi, screams of high balanced melodies and rhythms and does this amid genuine and sincere lyrics. Most will easily dismiss the album because of its “Poop Yer Pants” moniker but they’ll be missing out on a tremendous indie singer/songwriter rock adventure.
- J-Sin - smother.net
Discography
PYP's self-titled debut is recieving international radio play. Specialty and College DJ’s alike are going deep on the album, giving repeated spins to 7 tracks (“Stupid All the Time,” “Simple”, “Greensox”, “Everglader”, “In the Dark”, "Boomer's on a Hot Tuesday" & “Chester and Jonny”.)
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Poop Yer Pants is a sonic reaction to prescribed living, programmed entertainment, and the Pottery Barn.
Songwriter and front man Ken Adam grew up in San Francisco’s Noe Valley where he was classically trained as a flutist. He played upright bass in the Cabrio College Orchestra. But after too many psychedelic experiences Ken temporarily lost his musical ambition.
He eventually settled in Glendale, California where he nearly lost 3 fingers in a skill saw accident. Shortly after, Ken built a makeshift studio and recorded Poop Yer Pants – “Poop Yer Pants” a collection of story-like songs and grooves. “It favors musical ignorance over any sort of tradition.”
Music directors around the country poo-pooped the release:
“Poop yer Pants would have to change their name to stand a chance of airplay” - KPNT, St Louis, Les Aaron
“Definitely a pass, good music but I can’t rally behind that name” - WPLA, Jacksonville, Robert Goodman
But the album did receive radio play on over 40 stations across the US and even managed to see the light of day in the UK, Germany and the Philippines. DJ’s went deep on the debut, giving repeated spins to 7 tracks (“Stupid All the Time,” “Simple”, “Greensox”, “Everglader”, “In the Dark”, "Boomer's on a Hot Tuesday" & “Chester and Jonny”). It even made WRZX‘s “Hangover Café’s” list of the Top 75 albums of 2005, and scored a few reviews:
"Most will easily dismiss the album because of its Poop Yer Pants moniker but they'll be missing out on a tremendous indie singer/songwriter rock adventure." --Smother.net
"...the steady guitar sounded like something missing from the Doves' Last Broadcast. An excellent thing indeed." --Indie-Music.com
"Frisco Man" and "Chester and Johnny" are immediate successes; these songs are a nice platform for Adam to prove his varied talent as a songwriter…As a whole, this disc marks the first chapter in Poop Yer Pants' promising career. I like what I'm hearing. --indieville.com
"I'm absolutely floored! This is great, catchy music, perfectly executed, with great lyrics, melodies and production. I'm very, very impressed."
--Alan Haber, host of WEBR's Pure Pop
A year after the album's release, Ken moved into an old Victorian just outside of Ithaca, NY. The basement has been converted into his new studio, “Radon Lab,” named for its toxic radon content.
Radon Lab recently served as the set for Poop Yer Pant's first music video, "Spyspace."
Musically, "Spyspace" is a departure from Poop Yer Pant's acoustic guitar-driven punk. This cyber-electro track features the voice of "newest" member Peapod.
In reality, Peapod has been behind the scene of Poop Yer Pants from the get go. Last year, she quit her job of writing and producing cartoon promos, and became a full-time member of the act. An experienced performer with the Governor Mifflin Elementary School Choir, Peapod often draws inspiration from her former group's favorite song, "Get Along Little Doggies."
Checkout www.poopyerpants.com for more info and direct links to the reviews quoted above.
Links
