It must be hard times at Camp Pepper these days. The band’s last album No Thanks was described on bandcamp as ‘[t]he seventh and final album by Gregory Pepper & His Problems.’ Now Pepper offers up an Estate Sale, described as a grab bag of ‘B-sides, compilation tracks, covers, and alternate versions from the Camp Pepper Archives (2008-2023).’ So, like, what gives? Is this the end of Gregory Pepper and his Problems as a creative vehicle? Will they be replaced by something else? Or is Pepper forgoing music to finally commit to that snowplow job in his northern Ontario small town? You could tune in next week but I’m not confident we’d have any news.

What we do have is devilishly good serving of Pepper wit and whimsy over the 26 tracks of Estate Sale. Now let’s be clear, some of his estate items already went out in previous sales. A gander over at Camp Pepper reveals a host of b-sides, alternative versions, and demos appeared on expanded versions of previous releases of S/T, With Trumpets Flaring, Escape from Skull Mountain, and Demos! Demos! Demos! But there’s definitely still value for money here. There are covers of The Postal Service (“Natural Anthem”) and Ween (“Gabrielle”). There’s a rare teaser track from the Dad Year Recordings that didn’t make the final 52 song cut (“Back to the USA”). Other contributions will stand as repeats if you kept up with the flow of Pepper EPs over the years. For instance, the whole of the Ghost Town EP is included here as is “Secret Satan” from the ツ​ン​デ​レ (Tsundere) EP, and I don’t hear anything different about them. Personally I don’t begrudge Pepper a bit of double dipping. I mean, he’s not young anymore and probably needs the money. And, repetition or no, you’re still getting a nice retrospective of Pepper’s curio pop career.

There’s too much on Estate Sale to give a track by track breakdown. And that’s tough because, given that I love just about everything by Pepper, it’s hard for me to choose favourites. But if I were to draw attention to just a few things from this release I might highlight his manic 1950s reinventions like “LUV U 2 DETH” and “BFF,” or the driving macabre pop of “This Town” and “Home Alone,” or his hilarious self-deprecation on “Time For Plugs.” But Pepper can be serious and touching too, as can be heard on the holiday-themed “A Nice Thought” and “No Funeral.” Or I’d recommend hitting repeat on the 1970s hooky pop goodness of “It Gets Worse.” There’s a Mungo Jerry meets 1974 Wings thing going on here that I can really get behind. But hey, results may vary. Consult your doctor.

Like the rest of the world we live in, the fate of Gregory Pepper and his Problems remains uncertain. But you can quell your nervous mind with a few spins of this Estate Sale. Get thee over to Camp Pepper to check it out and all his other fabulous releases.

Photo courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.