The wait is almost over Pepper fans; the band’s new studio album Ohana is due out on April 29th via the groups own LAW Records; revealing the album cover and track listing.
After a nearly three-year hiatus, Pepper took a risk by updating their sound when they released their self-titled album in 2013, which led to mixed reviews from some of their most loyal fans. With that in mind, the band is taking a slightly different approach with Ohana.
When we spoke with drummer Yesod Williams regarding the album, he explained: “Our main goal is to record it on the record as we play it live. Because there are a lot of elements on a record that usually aren’t portrayed live, so rather than aim for a specific sound, we want to capture 
the energy of the live shows, and be able to play every song from the record live… We always will be and always have been just three guys on stage, so we want to make sure it sounds like there’s three guys on stage, in the studio.”
Ohana – the Hawaiian term for “family” – will be the first release on the band’s own LAW Records since Pink Crustaceans and Good Vibrations, the first recorded in the band’s own Kona Inn Recording Studio in Redondo Beach, CA, and is the first album to be self-produced by the band.
The album art is a simple black and white photo of a welcome mat at the foot of a door, surrounded by pairs of flip-flops. From the fan’s perspective, this can be seen as an invitation into the band’s ohana.
The album is currently available for pre-order on iTunes along with an early download of the first track from the album, “Start You Up.” The band has also published a Vacation playlist on Spotify, which contains the album’s first single “Vacation,” which bassist Bret Bollinger describes as “…if James Brown and The Beach Boys got together and had way too many Mai Tai’s.”
You can pre-order Ohana on iTunes by clicking HERE!
Stay tuned to The Pier for all things Pepper in the coming weeks, as we’ll be conducting a Q&A with the band and a track-by-track breakdown of the album before our review and star rating of Ohana. Catch the tour dates below that has Pepper festival hopping from Field of Haze to Sweetwater 420, Hangout, California Roots and Firefly music festival.
Pepper – Ohana Tracklist:
1.) Start You Up
2.) Vacation
3.) The Invite
4.) Never Ending Summer
5.) Reckless
6.) Wait
7.) Big Mistake
8.) Perfect Stranger
9.) Bones
10.) Around
Related Links:
Pepper Website
Pepper Facebook
Article By: Andrew Aroche
Photo By: Mark Ley
Watch: Pepper – “Start You Up”