Peace – In Love
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Buy: In Love
Who are Peace?
Peace are a four-piece band based in Birmingham who got everyone excited when they released the very promising EP ‘Delicious’ last year. They are Harry Koisser (vocals), Douglas Castle (guitar), Samuel Koisser (bass) and Dominic Boyce (drums).
What do I need to know about In Love?
The ‘Delicious’ EP got people excited/interested/curious about Peace because it placed their sound very much in the 90’s – dragging up comparisons with the likes of Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses, Primal Scream and Blur – but also felt pretty contemporary, with elements of Foals and WU LYF evident in the mix.
In Love has therefore become one of the most anticipated debut releases of 2013, and Peace have found themselves at the forefront of the ‘guitar music is back’ movement.
What’s good about In Love?
The tunes. Although a lot of the talk surrounding Peace has been about who they sound like, their biggest asset is their songwriting ability and ear for a smart pop hook – which helps to place their early 90’s leanings very much in the here and now. You will have probably already heard the glistening singles ‘Wraith’ and ‘Follow Baby’, but they’re just the tip of the iceberg. ‘Lovesick’ glides with the same effortless romanticism as The Cure’s ‘Friday, I’m In Love’, ‘Toxic’ is a well-realised and bittersweet anthem and ‘Drain’ glides into a rousing coda of chiming guitars.
Best of all is ‘Waste Of Paint’, which takes Blur’s ‘There’s No Other Way’ as a starting point, decks it in shuffling Reni-esque drums and builds it into a huge pop chorus – ‘you’re electric honey / you blow my brain / face to face we’re all the same / you and me we’re a waste of paint’ – which has unsurprisingly become a highlight of their live act.
What’s not so good?
When they get it right, Peace sound like the exhilarating new band we all want them to be – but perhaps understandably for a debut album, In Love doesn’t get it right all the time. Some tracks – ‘Float Forever’ in particular – come across as slightly muddled, unrealised ideas which fit uneasily alongside the strutting pop and textured sounds to be found elsewhere on the album.
Overall verdict
In Love is a headrush of an album which throws great pop hooks, retro influences and lots of romanticism at you. Sometimes their aim fails them and a few tracks miss their target, but on the whole it lives up to its billing as the first big debut album of 2013.
