Rob's Album Of The Week: Pickwick's Can't Talk Medicine

When you think of music from Seattle, you can't help but think of the obvious. Bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam,
Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, Mudhoney, The Presidents Of The United States Of America and even The Fastbacks (if you're a hardcore punk rock enthusiast) come to mind. Since that explosion of alternative rock that spread throughout The Emerald City like wildfire in the late 80's and early 90's, the legendary Seattle scene has grown to be more diverse nowadays. There's the indie-folk band The Head And The Heart, math rockers Minus The Bear, and experimental jazz pop band Hey Marseilles among many others that each call Seattle home and you can add one more band to this cornucopia of musical talent. Garage-R&B rockers Pickwick are definitely in the mix with their brand new album Can't Talk Medicine, it's such a great old-school rock & roll record while at the same time being amazingly timeless.

Self-released without any assistance from a record label in the truest DIY form, Pickwick's new album has so much feel in every track that you can't help but stomp your feet, bop your head and cut a rug on your living room floor. The production on the album gives it a vintage quality by sounding like you're listening to an old 45" despite the fact that you can upload it via mp3 to your computer without any problem. It's rare in these times that you get an album that doesn't have some sort of digitized and compressed sound, Can't Talk Medicine definitely sets itself apart by having the ability to roar through your speakers song after song. As you can probably tell, I flat out love the new album from Pickwick and I guarantee you will too after you press play.

---

The suspense will take you over, you mind will be shocked into oblivion and your ears will want to jump out of your skull and do the watusi. Yep, it's the part of this piece of music journalism where I do the arduous task of choosing my favorite songs off of Pickwick's Can't Talk Medicine. Honestly, it's not really that arduous but it's always a labor of love of having to highlight your favorite tracks when each one is downright awesome. Anyways enough of me trying to avoid the inevitable, here goes something:

"The Round" is my top track off of Can't Talk Medicine with the keys, guitars and drums combining to form one groovy song that will have the beats stuck in your head for a very long time. "Halls Of Columbia" kicks it off with rhythmic keys and then the bass seeps on in and brings on the drums for another track chock full of beats and grooves that goes straight to the soul. "Well, Well" has the drums taking it over but also allowing the guitar to have a bigger presence, definitely the most bluesy track on the record. "The Shadow" cools everything off with the drums having a steady beat along with the keys having an organ like effect that provides a divine listening experience. When it comes down to it, my opinion doesn't matter. With that being said, get yourself a copy of Pickwick's Can't Talk Medicine and form your own thoughts on it.

Pickwick are currently in the middle of touring The United States and Canada and they'll be hitting up SXSW in Austin, TX from March 13th-15th for what should be an awesome time for anyone who makes the trek down to The Live Music Capital Of The World. For us New England music fanatics, Pickwick will be performing at T.T. The Bear's Place in Cambridge, MA on April 25th. Every Bostonian should go to that show or they'll be missing out on something special. Until Pickwick rocks your neighborhood music venue, give their new album Can't Talk Medicine a listen because it'll rock your world.

- Rob Duguay