Pep Squad's BEC debut No Doy is an interesting mixture of breathy vocals and noisy feedback-laden guitars held together in a pop song format. In fact, No Doy is practically a tribute to such indie rock legends as Sonic Youth and Superchunk. For the most part, Pep Squad wants to play things off-kilter. Though the record starts off with the brooding "Angel," they quickly get into the indie power pop that comprises much of the record. Employing "ba-ba-bahs" (reminiscent of The Beatles and Beach Boys), crunchy guitars and bottom-heavy thumping basslines, the songs move. Pep Squad seeks to cram as much as possible into their songs without sounding rushed. "Jamie's Kisses" is a treasure that rocks out, yet is melodic enough to leave you singing it hours after a listen. "Bug-Nug" is a great tune that plays a nice tension game. The song goes from a nice jangly guitar melody to an all-out rock chorus. The vocals are the strongest when Brian's (no last names for the Pep Squad) voice cracks (he's nearly yelling) and Kim sings backing vocals. On "Soopertrooper," Brian and Kim trade vocals back and forth which is a unique dynamic not seen much in music today. Pep Squad lays down simple but solid rhythms with guitars playfully going between odd feedback and jangling to hard crunchy riffs. Lyrically, Pep Squad is obscure, if not downright silly. It is hard to know what exactly they are singing about. Many songs deal with girls, detachment, longing and love. Fairly standard themes for a rock 'n' roll band, but they mess it up with obscure metaphors (like in "Jamie's Kisses": Jamie's kisses are like candy canes on Christmas/ Jamie's kisses are red and white and twisted). No Doy is a promising, if somewhat plain, tip into indie rock. A nice effort for a debut, but the members of Pep Squad tend to rely on their heroes a bit much, rather than finding their own voice.
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #72Reviewed by Brian Vincent McGovernOne of my favorite indies of '96, Pep Squad has returned, this time on BEC, with a project that rises far above the quality of their autonomous CD. Producers Chris Colbert and Bob Wohler seem to have aided, or brought out, a more mature sound, as the entire record has a decidedly darker feel. Even more happy-go-lucky songs like "Bug-Nug" have been semi-cloaked with a more serious feel, working in…Similar sounding releases
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