"On The Rocks," the new album by hovercraft, reflects the group's most audacious attempt to explore the emotional abyss left by the band's vanished songwriter, Piers "Charlie Pepper" Wildman. Self-released via BandLab, the 12-track blend of Alt, R&B, Neo-soul, and Indie-rock finds Pepper's surviving members, David "Golly God" Marsden and Aaron "Ron Nasty" Downing, doubling down on their mission to bring Pepper's unreleased catalog from the dead, with way more grit, introspection, and emotional volatility.
This album takes them into a moodier, more experiential terrain. The album opens with "Anytime," which shifts the mood with its '70s disco beat and thrashes of brilliant guitar that collide with lyrics about mental confusion and perfect chaos, perfectly delivered. "My Own Little World" is an indie-folk hymn that blooms from simple piano into a meditation on love as a refuge. "Keep It Together" is a delicate, pensive journey of an indie-pop revelation of regret and self-destruction.
That cinematic sensibility is front and center on "White Limousine," a blues-rock exploration of escape, disillusionment, and the weight of memory. "Indie Kid" is a reflection of precious revolution slowly edging into realism, and "Bob Bob Bob" paints a grim portrait of suicide, addiction, and the lasting emotional material debts that remain once we're gone. "Sweet Thing" gives us a raw, unpolished, and intimate experience.
At the same time, "Baby Blue" opens with piano and country-influenced female vocals, and alternative dance beats, all of which explode into a sweeping climax. Fans would also enjoy "Love," "Crazy," and "Superman," and they will find this music highly emotional, often darker, more cutting, and emotionally draining. At forty-two minutes, "On The Rocks" is a reclamation of a disappearing voice, a tribute to artistic integrity, and a witness to the band's commitment to preserving Charlie Pepper's genius.
