Pinky Pinky's California origins run through Turkey Dinner, from the dry brightness of the production to the band's mixture of garage rock, pop melody and casual psychedelia. Producers Hanni El Khatib and Jonny Bell give the debut enough polish to reveal its hooks without sanding away the trio's eccentricity.
The most striking quality is how naturally the songs move between styles. "My Friend Sean" has the compact melodic directness of Weezer, while "Floorboards" carries some of the arch theatricality of Kimono My House-era Sparks. Elsewhere the band's taste for crooked arrangements and psychedelic colour recalls Ariel Pink, although Pinky Pinky sound less interested in pastiche than in seeing how many different shapes a short pop song can take.
"All the Birds" is driven by a tight, propulsive rhythm, while "Sticking Around" slows the record down without sacrificing its melodic precision. "Applecheeks" introduces a country inflection, "(Do Me Dirty) Charlie" has a more exotic cast, and "Mystery Sedan" uses stop-start Orange County punk rhythms, synthesizer figures and wordless backing vocals inside the same compact arrangement.
Even the stranger turns retain a sense of lightness. "If It Didn't Hurt" is openly lascivious without becoming cumbersome, while the closing "Loose Change" unexpectedly settles into a straightforward boogie complete with horns and stride piano. None of those gestures feels large enough to become a gimmick because the band moves on before any single idea is exhausted.
Turkey Dinner is a young band's record in the best sense: cars, sex, friendship, bad decisions and the pleasure of making noise all coexist without being forced into a grand statement. Its personality comes from the speed with which those obsessions and musical references collide.
GENRE: Pop Rock
RELEASE DATE: June 14, 2019
PRODUCED BY: Hanni El Khatib & Jonny Bell
LABEL: Innovative Leisure
RATING: 7/10