Review: Peace - In Love

image: peaceforeverever.co.uk

B-town’s new-kids-on-the-block bagged their first taste of critical acclaim in the early months of 2012 when they were described by The Guardian as “the future of indie.” Countless music bloggers soon jumped on the bandwagon, comparing them to the likes of Foals, WU LYF and Vampire Weekend – 3 veterans of the ‘small-time’ indie scene. However; It wasn’t until late 2012, when they released their debut EP ‘Delicious’ and announced that they would be opening the 12 annual NME tour dates that the girls with the nose rings, tie dye shirts and yin-yang symbols on either end of their twitter names believed the hype of this Brummie quartet.

I have to say; my first impressions of Peace based on their debut single ‘Follow Baby’ and the Delicious EP were surprisingly high considering they are just another group of lads in the whirlwind of indie bands that have been arising from Britain in the last 12 months, but I just felt that they were lacking in originality. However, my initial perception was well and truly shat on when I saw them live at Manchester Academy on the second date of the NME Awards Tour which has become quite a regular night out for me in the past few years due to its electric atmosphere and its ability to breed up-and-coming bands into massive headline acts. Despite the fact that I unfortunately missed 3 quarters worth of Peace’s already miniscule set (which was inevitable given Greater Manchester’s lack of reliable public transport and the time it takes me and my friends to get ready) what I did manage to catch was well and truly mind blowing. From the high-energy ending of ‘Wraith’ to the mellow, love infused lyrics of ‘California Daze,’ finished off by the engaging, almost Brit-pop inspired guitars of ‘Follow Baby,’ Peace definitely did not disappoint. With this in mind, I, a self-confessed Peace fan, was more than keen to hear what they had to say for themselves in the form of their debut album ‘In Love’ which is set for release on the 25th of March. 

The album opens with potential summer anthem ‘Higher Than the Sun’ which sounds like it was made to be played to hundreds of British festival-goers fist pumping in the warm rays of the sun after a couple of Kopparbergs (sounds a lot nicer than it would be in reality if we’re talking Britain, maybe fist pumping in the freezing cold gusts of wind while it pisses it down/snows, anything is possible, even in August.) That aside, this track really does encapsulate everything you would want from a 2013 indie tune and it certainly revved me up to continue listening to the album. I was glad to see that the second track on the record was ‘Follow Baby,’ a re-mastered version with clearer, louder vocals against the riffs, however, I cannot decide whether it works better than the deeper, more obscure original or not. The third track of the album ‘Lovesick,’ reinforces the summer vibes of the opener with lyrics like “I wanna get love sick with you” which I feel are reminiscent of the lovey-dovey charm of ‘California Daze.’ I also sense influences of The Cure on this track as the form of the vocals and the nature of the lyrics are loosely resonant of their 1992 hit, ‘Friday I’m in Love.’ ‘Float Forever,’ which is a personal favourite of mine after the first couple of listens, establishes Peace as more than just your average indie band – although it’s intro does depict the soundtrack to an emotional scene of ‘SpongeBob Square Pants’. It emphasizes their ability to make a genuinely good powerful track that wouldn’t sound out of place in a stadium surrounding. Not only this but Peace have shown that they can make a bloody good indie jam as well as the more anthemic and influential tracks they have graced us with on this record. This is evident in tracks such as ‘Delicious,’ and ‘Waste of Paint.’ The album concludes with the delicate guitar sounds of ‘California Daze’ which I feel is the perfect culmination to an album full of summer highs and big, boastful indie anthems. This track is definitely one of Peace’s more admirable works and it offers a more unique perspective on the regular indie love song we’re all used to. It has rightfully earned its place on the album for sure.

It is evident that Peace have acquired some influences from bands like Oasis and Blur in the making of this album, especially on tracks such as ‘Float Forever’ and ‘Sugarstone,’ but the question you have to ask yourself is, what is the harm in knowing your history? I see too many bands get slated for having a particular sound that could be construed as somebody else’s, but we all have influences, don’t we? What I am trying to say is, there are some traces of 90’s Brit-pop psychedelia within this record but Peace have definitely built on that idea and created something much more unique and powerful than I anticipated. With new bands flying at us left right and centre like Palma Violets, Swim Deep and Haim, Peace are definitely one of the front-runners in this line up of fresh indie sounds for 2013 and this album has certainly left me with a ridiculous hunger for marvellous weather (if we’re lucky) and the glory of dirt ridden wellies along with the idea living in a tent for the weekend while your favourite bands do their thing. Peace, I am expecting big things from you in the future.

***

10/10