Single/Video Review: Pixie Caramel Feat. Tiki Taane

When punk hit the UK in 1976, I loved the high-octane high energy music which came out of the scene and was quite surprised when the adults around me said there was no melody, and it was just a load of noise. The first wave of the new punk scene was made up of musicians who had been part of the earlier pub rock craze, so they knew what they were doing, and were far more musically inclined than many gave them credit for. The Sex Pistols brought in Chris Spedding to give them some polish, while The Clash were not afraid to drop in reggae and bands like The Damned knew how to craft perfectly formed singles with catchy hooks and choruses, while when looking over the Atlantic, The Ramones were doing something very similar. Even UK Subs turned on the charm, while The Adverts pulled it all together.

Here we have a song which is bringing together all these styles and influences, adding in one of New Zealand’s most important musicians in Tiki Taane (his version of Over The Rainbow is still my all-time favourite), and then combined it all with chocolate! Pixie Caramel is a typical Kiwi chocolate bar, in that it is loved here and unheard of in most other places (manufactured now by Nestle). It is chewy caramel covered in chocolate, and the 1980 advert is still available on YouTube, where the prisoner facing the firing squad asks for a Pixie Caramel as his last request, and it takes so long for him to eat it that everyone falls asleep and he escapes over the wall.

The Gisborne punk band have designed a song about going to the dairy to get their favourite bar and have packed it full of aggression and angst with shouty backing vocals, yet although there are buzzsaw riffs they somehow find room to throw in a hip hop/drum & bass section from Tiki which is somehow very different yet totally aligned with what is going on either side. The arrangement and production is clean, allowing the punk ethic to come through while it is also incredibly polished, as would be expected from a band who released their debut album when they were just 14 years old.

On its own the song is wacky throwback to classic punk and all that means, while the video takes it to new levels. We are back with the 1980 advert, except this time we have Tiki as the sergeant leading the firing squad, who asks singer Cory Newman “Is there anything I can do for you before you get shot in the head?”. He then jokes around until Cory finally gives his answer, “Pixie Caramel?” The rest of the video finds the guys playing the song, Tiki on a skateboard, the guards either joining in or falling asleep until the band escape, with the last sound being a siren warning of escape and Cory’s wheelchair being dragged up the wall on a rope.

Some bands remember that punk can be all about fun and having a great time, and Sit Down In Front are one of those.