EP Review: Mean Poppa Lean

Mean Poppa Lean – ‘Smash and Grab’ (self-released)

If the Red Hot Chilli Peppers had grown-up in Brighton instead of Hollywood, then they’d probably sound a lot like Mean Poppa Lean. These funky upstarts clearly don’t take themselves too seriously and after giving ‘Smash and Grab’ a spin you get the feeling they know how to have a good time.

There are some moments that make you cringe a bit, like when the singer declares ‘Poppa Time’ in homage to MC Hammer before a particularly funky breakdown. Then again, it’s hard not to smile at the same time.

Mean Poppa Lean are fun to listen to on record, but I get the feeling they really come into their own live. This is best demonstrated with a call-and-response bit on the first song which sounds a bit anaemic on the album, but would probably whip the crowd into a frenzy at gigs.

Comparisons with the Chillies are easy to make but you can also feel the spirit of the late, great James Brown being channelled as well as a strong Northern Soul influence. It seems these guys have honed their chops by listening to funk’s finest ambassadors, and it’s paid off.

Mean Poppa Lean clearly revel in their own funkiness, and when they proclaim ‘We Eat Funk For Breakfast’ I for one am not going to argue with them. If you’re after some mindless, pelvis-thrusting, crotch-grabbing, funky action, then this is your band!

In a word: funky. As funk.

Check out Mean Poppa Lean on myspace