Meet PEACH
They’re a four-piece post-punk band from Bristol. As their
Bandcamp bio explains, their sound takes ‘influence from desert rock, punk
and grunge. It’s noisy, it’s angry, it’s honest’.
Their new self-titled album was recorded with minimal overdubs at Middle Farm Studios in Dorset, and as a result it sounds raw AF. Raw as the ear that Mike Tyson bit off. Raw as Heidi Montag's diet. Raw as a MrBeast Burger.
Most of the songs are loud and intense numbers made up of
hissing cymbals, rumbling baritone guitars and chaotic vocals. They’re also
very catchy – each sporting a driving riff and explosive chorus. There are no
breathers between tracks, which adds to the intensity of the album. The band do
however allow a couple softer moments on ‘Long Mover’ and ‘I’m Scared’, where
they play/sing as delicately as possible to create an extreme contrast. Most of
the songs are very direct, but ‘Settle Down’ does prove that the band can also
write a great slow-builder. Closer ‘Thousand Hands’ meanwhile offers a glimpse
of a more experimental and terrifying side. You can stream the album below.
I was fortunate enough to do a Q&A with the band. They kindly
educated me as to what a baritone guitar is and also informed me which toppings their band
would contain were it a pizza (spoiler: it doesn’t contain any peaches).
If PEACH was a pizza what toppings would it have?
Nduja, shoulders and hot grease.
Your debut album is so excitingly raw! What was the
recording/producing process like for this album?
Exactly that, we recorded to tape with minimal overdubs. We had the bare
bones of the album recorded in the first four hours of being at the studio.
I absolutely love the vocals on this album. They feel so volatile but controlled. Catchy but at times also completely unpredictable. Ellie, who are your vocal inspirations?
Joni Mitchel, Bjork, PJ Harvey and Britanny Howard.
This album contains baritone guitar – which I didn’t realise
was an instrument, despite having played guitar (poorly) for many years. How
does a baritone guitar compare to a regular guitar and bass guitar?
So a baritone is in the octave range in between a guitar and a bass.
Think a deep sounding guitar or a high sounding bass, which Tim pairs with an
octave pedal.
‘Settle Down’ is my favourite track on the album. It’s got such
an epic build-up and the trumpets were a cool surprise. Who played the trumpets
on this track?
That is our very good friend Simon Dobson, an incredibly talented
musician and composer. You can also hear Patrick James Pearson on piano and
hammond organ who plays in the wonderful band 'LYR' with the poet laureate
Simon Armitage. If you haven't heard their music I implore you to do so because
it's truly incredible.
‘Thousand Hands’ is a pretty terrifying closer. It reminds me
of that scene in Labyrinth where Sarah falls into a pit full of hands. Was that an
inspiration for this track by any chance?
Unfortunately not, but that's exactly what we are going to start telling people.
I’m always discovering new exciting bands from Bristol. Who are some of your favourite fellow Bristol bands right now?
Heavy Lungs, MOULD and Masca.
What are PEACH gigs like? Any funny/weird gig stories?
I would say quite intense. We aren't really into talking, we just want
to play our music.
What does the future hold for PEACH?
WORLD DOMINATION, and we are currently writing our second record.
Follow PEACH on Instagram at peachband_ and Facebook at wearepeachbanduk