Pimpadelic cram vile lyrics, catchy choruses, upbeat rapcore and Texan soul into their major label debut album "Southern Devils". Packed to the brim with verses detailing in content ranging from sleeping with underage girls and getting drunk to scat, the band comes ready to shock any who will listen. Take a bit of Kid Rock, a little Limp Bizkit and some old school Sugar Ray and you'd have a good comparison to what Pimpadelic is all about. Vocals come with a very Kid Rock meets Vince Neil of Motley Crue sound, technically proficient, the verses fly out at a reckless pace and the choruses come packing a crane like hook, instantly catchy, it's hard for the listener to not end up with the rhythm stuck in their head after a few listens. Content wise the band's lyrical content is a bit questionable and sometimes laughable, not completely serious, but definitely totally sleazy, they paint a picture that almost makes a shower necessary after listening. Guitars are simplistic and modest, tuned moderately they stick with a sound that could be described best as a country meets 80's metal riffs with a slight late 90's rapcore flair. Solid yet sparse they serve as a steady backbone to the music laid out. Bass is catchy featuring funk filled riffs that could as easily be looped in a hip hop track as they are played within the tracks on this CD. Up tempo and enjoyable they provide the steam and groove for the bands music like railroad tracks to a train. Drums are consistent, played with a dulled medium sound, there's a bevy of snare hits backed with the occasional tom rolls that all come coated in a scaled down hip hop flavor. Not necessarily impressive but indeed functionally and fundamentally sound they carry their own within the music. Turntables are the most invigorating component in the mix, offbeat samples from Run D.M.C. to "Rhinestone Cowboy" show their face throughout the disc along with almost everything in between. From classic James Brown to the more modern Ol' Dirty Bastard, D.J. M.I.A.'s crates seem to show no bottom with their offbeat pop culture laden cargo. Musically the group follows a very formulated structure, each song tends to have an intro/verse/chorus/bridge, etc, robbing the band of any drastic spontaneity, although the constant inclusion of unorthodox sample does tend to pick up the slack. Solid musicians, the group plunges through the albums 14 tracks in a drunken range no doubt inspired by the cheapest booze they could get their hands on. Still the group's reliance on shock factor lyrically does leave the question of longevity, once the jokes are heard a few times the verses can become mildly repetitious, leaving the listener to ask for more. The album is also a re-release and leaves a bit to be desired as it has tendency to feel dated during some moments. Another knock against this album could be the strong similarities to Kid Rock and familiar instrumental elements the end up downplaying the freshness this band could possess. Some of the more critical listeners will question whether the band is trying to cash in on the sound that's hot at the moment, while others might walk off in disgust. But through it all the band has created a disc that flows smoothly from start to finish and combines elements of country, metal and rap into one nasty brew. People that are looking for a cheap thrill and don't mind being subjected clever lyrics that will make their grandparents faint in horror are sure to enjoy this release, while listeners looking for a more spiritual buzz would probably be best off seeking out something with a little more class and depth.
(3.5 / 5)