
Posted April 10 2020 at 3:47am
Genre: Indie rock
Peach Pit drops their new record just as summer's started heating up
A cool but classic take on indie pop, You and Your Friends has claimed it’s rightful spot as one of this summer’s hottest.
Written by
Becca Carroll
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It’s summertime, and I prefer my summers dripping in some gooey, dewy indie… right? I’m pretty sure I say this every year, but I’m also pretty sure I’m not alone – lots of us wait all year long to get, you know, that laid back summer feel that our often hectic, overheated realities fail to really give us. And if you’re like me, to capture that feeling, you tend to just spend three months riding out the classics (which, for me, consists of Weezer’s Blue Album, Car Seat Headrest’s Teens of Denial, anything by Mac DeMarco, Songs of Her’s, the list goes on). This year, though, it’s time to bury all your cliched playlists because Vancouver’s indie darlings, Peach Pit, have just put out a record right as summer’s started heating up. Released June 18, just three weeks into the nationwide quarantine as a result of COVID-19, Peach Pit’s You and Your Friends has turned my shelter-in-place nightmare into a suburban f_cking daydream. I mean, of course, quarantine’s been home to tons of great releases, but this record’s dreamy, shoegaze-style pop has just hit a bit closer to home than typically, while being, well, a bit closer to home than typically.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Peach Pit (@peachpit17) on
Peach Pit has never been the type to take themselves too seriously, and have always skimmed but never crossed the line of pop. This, combined with their witty sense of songwriting and prolific meme content (above), has shaped the band into an accessible, carefree escape. So, you can imagine why I’ve picked the laid back world of Peach Pit to just dissolve myself in during these uncertain times. Their lyrics set up scenes of very personal, yet tangible moments that, when overlaid with this record’s lax drum beats and heavy reverb, make their lyrics feel like daydreams, available to just reclaim as your own. (Peach Pit definitely strikes me as what’s mine is yours kind of people.) Granted, this record has more than its fair share of heartbreak, loss, regret, and certainly some tendency to sweat the small stuff – but all of the mundane and even downright dark aspects of living have been made light by this poppy take on ‘summer bummer’ style. And I think that’s something everyone can find some comfort in right now.
But this record’s feat is far beyond just it’s relatability. I will say, I’m a sucker for a soundtrack that effectively makes my reality feel doper than it is (again, I’m not alone in this, correct?), but more than that, what Peach Pit’s done is formed a re-imagined indie landscape for their sound. They’ve gotten even closer now, I’d say, to that middle ground they’ve always edged on, right between the indie and the pop. Their melodies have really perked up – although they’ve kept their sense of angst, this record feels a lot less reeled in than their last. They pull in sounds like neo-psychedelia with “Bryan’s Movie” and wistful slacker rock in “Figure 8” (below), tying in an assortment of genres to form their quirky charm. And, in Peach Pit fashion, it always is delightfully perceptive and unapologetically unpolished.
“Rings” by Pinegrove official audio via YouTube
I might almost consider this record to be sunny if the mood wasn’t so compromised by Neil Smith’s ongoing affair with, well, his personal affairs. From the start, You and Your Friends establishes it’s multi-mood demeanor with “Feeling Low (F*ckboy Blues),” easily the rowdiest number on the tracklist. But this song’s punchy indie rock gets all mixed up with existential dread, beginning with its opening line, “I want something always more or less than what I have.” The record takes us right into “Black Licorice,” where Smith sings fragilely, “I’m just black licorice, and all the people that I know would rather leave me in the bowl.” These tracks, along with others, like “Shampoo Bottles” and “Figure 8,” touch heavily on the topic of a lover that’s been lost, but bump so hard you’d never even know it.
“Rings” by Pinegrove official audio via YouTube
But, don’t worry, Smith’s bluer moments don’t last nearly long enough to leave any lasting taste. Like I said, Peach Pit isn’t one to make things complicated – they may have a Spotify listener count that’s pushing two million, but, in order to accomplish anything, these guys need to shut themselves up in a room just like the rest of us. Neil tells Atwood mag, “[I] spent a lot of time locked in my apartment last year trying to frantically write tunes and at first, it was hard but as time went on it became a lot easier… it gets pretty hard if you don’t do it all the time.” But, I mean, this adolescent attitude is what makes up the true spirit of Peach Pit, which, without it, we’d have much less killer song titles and their content would lose all its whimsy. Just look at “Shampoo Bottles” – in this one, the singer is left with the belongings of his ex around his place, and from the heartbreak of it, you would’ve thought the girl had left behind a bunch of corpses. But, instead of committing to the morbid scene, the band made this song bump like hell.
So, sure, Peach Pit’s got their quirks. And whether they really intended to or not, their sophomore effort shows exactly how they have decided to reshape their slacker, shoegaze style into a more defined outfit – and it seems to fit a little better. With this only being their second full-length release, they’re no, their mixing isn’t perfect, and their genre spectrum may not be too wide, but they’ve certainly evolved into a put-together take on DIY. An innovative yet classic take on indie pop, You and Your Friends is claimed their rightful place as one of summer’s hottest.
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Posted April 10, 2020 at 3:47
Genre: Indie rock
Peach Pit drops their new record just as summer’s started heating up
A review of You and Your Friends by Peach Pit
jam it while you read…
From where I’m sitting, it’s freakin’ summertime, and I prefer my summers dripping in some gooey, dewy indie… right? I’m pretty sure I say this every year, but I’m also pretty sure I’m not alone – lots of us wait all year long to get, you know, that laid back summer feel that our often hectic, overheated realities fail to really give us. And if you’re like me, to capture that feeling, you tend to just spend three months riding out the classics (which, for me, consists of Weezer’s Blue Album, Car Seat Headrest’s Teens of Denial, anything by Mac DeMarco, Songs of Her’s, the list goes on). This year, though, it’s time to bury all your cliched playlists because Vancouver’s indie darlings, Peach Pit, have just put out a brand new record right as summer’s started heating up. Released June 18, just three weeks into the nationwide quarantine as a result of COVID-19, Peach Pit’s You and Your Friends has turned my shelter-in-place nightmare into a suburban f_cking daydream. I mean, of course, quarantine’s been home to tons of great releases, but this record’s dreamy, shoegaze-style pop has just hit a bit closer to home than typically, while being, well, a bit closer to home than typically.
Peach Pit has never been the type to take themselves too seriously, and have always skimmed but never crossed the line of pop. This, combined with their witty sense of songwriting and prolific meme content, has shaped the band into an accessible, carefree escape. So, you can imagine why I’ve picked the laid back world of Peach Pit to just dissolve myself in during these uncertain times. Their lyrics set up scenes of very personal, yet tangible moments that, when overlaid with this record’s lax drum beats and heavy reverb, make their lyrics feel like daydreams, available to just reclaim as your own. (Peach Pit definitely strikes me as what’s mine is yours kind of people.) Granted, this record has more than its fair share of heartbreak, loss, regret, and certainly some tendency to sweat the small stuff – but all of the mundane and even downright dark aspects of living have been made light by this poppy take on ‘summer bummer’ style. And I think that’s something everyone can find some comfort in right now.
But this record’s feat is far beyond just it’s relatability. I will say, I’m a sucker for a soundtrack that effectively makes my reality feel doper than it is (again, I’m not alone in this, correct?), but more than that, what Peach Pit’s done is formed a re-imagined indie landscape for their sound. They’ve gotten even closer now, I’d say, to that middle ground they’ve always edged on, right between the indie and the pop. Their melodies have really perked up – although they’ve kept their sense of angst, this record feels a lot less reeled in than their last. They pull in sounds like neo-psychedelia with “Bryan’s Movie” and wistful slacker rock in “Figure 8” (below), tying in an assortment of genres to form their quirky charm. And, in Peach Pit fashion, it always is delightfully perceptive and unapologetically unpolished.
I might almost consider this record to be sunny if the mood wasn’t so compromised by Neil Smith’s ongoing affair with, well, his personal affairs. From the start, You and Your Friends establishes it’s multi-mood demeanor with “Feeling Low (F*ckboy Blues),” easily the rowdiest number on the tracklist. But this song’s punchy indie rock gets all mixed up with existential dread, beginning with its opening line, “I want something always more or less than what I have.” The record takes us right into “Black Licorice,” where Smith sings fragilely, “I’m just black licorice, and all the people that I know would rather leave me in the bowl.” These tracks, along with others, like “Shampoo Bottles” and “Figure 8,” touch heavily on the topic of a lover that’s been lost, but bump so hard you’d never even know it.
But, don’t worry, Smith’s bluer moments don’t last nearly long enough to leave any lasting taste. Like I said, Peach Pit isn’t one to make things complicated – they may have a Spotify listener count that’s pushing two million, but, in order to accomplish anything, these guys need to shut themselves up in a room just like the rest of us. Neil tells Atwood mag, “[I] spent a lot of time locked in my apartment last year trying to frantically write tunes and at first, it was hard but as time went on it became a lot easier… it gets pretty hard if you don’t do it all the time.” But, I mean, this adolescent attitude is what makes up the true spirit of Peach Pit, which, without it, we’d have much less killer song titles and their content would lose all its whimsy. Just look at “Shampoo Bottles” – in this one, the singer is left with the belongings of his ex around his place, and from the heartbreak of it, you would’ve thought the girl had left behind a bunch of corpses. But, instead of committing to the morbid scene, the band made this song bump like hell.
So, sure, Peach Pit’s got their quirks. And whether they really intended to or not, their sophomore effort shows exactly how they have decided to reshape their slacker, shoegaze style into a more defined outfit – and it seems to fit a little better. With this only being their second full-length release, they’re no, their mixing isn’t perfect, and their genre spectrum may not be too wide, but they’ve certainly evolved into a put-together take on DIY. An innovative yet classic take on indie pop, You and Your Friends is claimed their rightful place in summer’s current hottest.
Posted October 20, 2018 at 11:46 PM
Written by Becca Carroll
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