EMPEROR PENGUIN WANT TO TAKE YOU FOR A RIDE
Release Date: July 8th 2020
Critically acclaimed power pop dynamos Emperor Penguin are back! The new EP Taken For a Ride is out now on Savage Frenzy Recordings!
The EP comprises four guitar-driven tracks dealing with everything from alien abduction to soft drink consumption in swinging London. It’s available to download and stream at EmperorPenguin.Bandcamp.com and from all the usual outlets. Lead track ‘Tuesday’s World’ features star guest Lisa Mychols ‘The Queen of Power Pop’ on vocals.
Written, performed and recorded by Emperor Penguin at Highbury Fields Forever and at home during the great lockdown of 2020. Mixed and mastered by Cameron Lister. All songs © Emperor Penguin 2020.
Emperor Penguin Neil Christie – Guitar, Vocals, Keyboards; Nigel Winfield – Guitar, Bass, Vocals; JT – Bass, Guitar, Vocals, Keyboards; Richard Wilson – Drums, Piano. In the beginning, many years ago, the original Penguins - Neil Christie (vocals, guitar), Nigel Winfield (vocals, guitar), Adrian Long (vocals, bass) and Richard Wilson (drums) – set out to make a noise. Inspired by the likes of XTC, The Beatles, Buzzcocks and, er, The Wombles, they played gigs in and around London in the early ‘90s and recorded their debut album at BBC Maida Vale Studios. That album – Crumhorn - remained unreleased until very recently. Life intervened and the band went into hibernation until 2017, when the re-formed (but not reformed) Emperor Penguin released a new album – Rum Pop Engineer – on CD via Kool Kat Musik and on vinyl via their own Savage Frenzy Records. The addition of the new member bass / guitar player / singer ‘JT’, replacing Rocking Adrian, engineered fresh energy into this rum pop. For the LP ‘Walnut Fascia’ (2018) released on Kool Kat / Savage Frenzy, the Penguin aesthetic once again evolved. There was the same love of classic power pop and the occasional foray into rough and ready garage rock – but with a broader sonic palette.
Fourth album ‘Soak up the Gravy’ (2020) was release in January of this year to widespread acclaim. Critical Acclaim for ‘Soak up the Gravy’
'This is a hugely enjoyable and varied album, one which fans of guitar pop should really check out. A superb listen.' Colours Through The Air
‘Simply irresistible… I haven’t had this much fun listening to a record since Blockbuster. If Andy Partridge had wandered into the Beatles sessions at Abbey Road, this is what I imagine the results might have been.’ PowerPop News
’Quirky, warm, fun and eminently catchy, the album will be a treat for pop music fans of every stripe!’ David Bash, Founder/CEO, International Pop Overthrow Music Festival
‘Simply bursts with delightful melodies.' Poprock Record
'Throws together the best of late 60s psyche-pop with power pop. The band is firing on all cylinders with Soak Up The Gravy. An early nominee for my top album list of 2020.' Powerpopaholic
'Unique and exciting, Soak Up the Gravy pushes the envelope in all the proper places.' Something Else Reviews
The best album I've heard in the power-pop/guitar pop arena so far this year is 'Soak Up The Gravy'. What's apparent is the frequent originality in the songs, a talent for crafting memorable hooks, and some witty lyricism.’ The Morning Call
‘I expected good things from Soak Up the Gravy. But I wasn’t prepared for just how much of an earworm songs like the opening track “Hello Picasso” would be. This music has all of the energy and sassiness of prime ’70s-era rock crossed with ’90s alternarock. It’s nominally in the powerpop idiom, but honestly, Emperor Penguin has about as much to do with that subgenre as, say, Cheap Trick. In other words, yeah…but more.’ Bill Kopp @ Musoscribe
'A panoply of styles encompassing Supergrass, The Cure, and XTC, incorporating mad pop science and hyperactive guitars, that starts out rocky and gets progressively sweeter as it proceeds... Inventive melodic flow and super dynamics. Who can resist a band called Emperor Penguin?' Mike Baron @ PopGeekHeaven
And for previous releases: One of the most clever bands you'll have heard in a while...whimsical powerpop with unusual, unexpected chord changes...as catchy as a cold in December... a delight from start to finish.' **** Shindig! magazine ‘Emperor Penguin delivers big time. Eloquently written and catchy as all git-go… Simply awesome.’ Power Pop News ‘Inventive, quirky power pop band whose music conjures up the Jam as much as Big Star.’ The Unherd Music ‘Highly Recommended… Coolest psych-pop album of the year.’ Powerpopaholic.com ‘UK’s Emperor Penguin have released one of the most intriguing records I’ve heard all year. These guys are a power pop band at their core, that much is clear. But they use trippy atmospheric sounds swirling around some of the catchiest melodies you’ll ever hear. Imagine The Jam covering the Beatles Sgt. Pepper album and you might be able to start picturing what Emperor Penguin have done here. Emperor Penguin have put their own unique touch to the power pop genre and the results are quite magnificent.’ Audio Ammunition.