So with new releases coming out all the time, it’s hard finding the best release and the best bands. But, I think I have found it here with the indie pop band Peaness and their new EP called Are You Sure. Rach, Balla and Jess formed late 2014 when they were at university at Chester.
The name as weird as it is, really doesn’t have any meaning more that the band thought it was funny. Their first EP titled No Fun came soon after their formation, and was released via a special edition cassette tape. After that record, they took to touring the country over the next two years, counting the likes of BBC Radio 1’s Huw Stephens, as fans.
They signed to ALCOPOP! Records at the start of the year, with the label saying, “to put it frankly, Peaness are pretty much THE best band I’ve heard in the last few months – They’ve achieved stacks already and we’re really excited to get on board and help out. The EP hasn’t left my head for weeks. It’s infectious, brilliant, DIY-influenced indie-pop“.
They weren’t wrong about the EP, as every track stands out, with simple but catchy melodies and beautiful vocal harmonies, it really is an EP that is fun and easy to listen to and memorise, which is hard these days.
The EP starts off with the song “Oh George“, which is backed by a nice reverbed guitar riff, and lush bass and drums coming in, with a simple formula that works really well. It also features a catchy chorus with the lines “On George you broken my heart, you lied to me and my family“, which really gives the song staying power.
The vocal harmonies on this song are a joy to listen to, and is helped with the bit of reverb added that is also present throughout the whole EP. With a nice solo in the bridge, it’s a great start to the EP.
we have more of the same in “Seaform Islands“, with a simple guitar riff going over nice vocals that really sets the tone. It builds into a big chorus with the line “do you want to, because I want to“, with the double up vocal really adding much value to the chorus. This all works well with the relationship subject matter the band are singing about on this song.
Then we get to the best song on the EP in my opinion with “Same Place“. This features another really catchy guitar riff, but with a really outstanding vocal display in the verses especially, and more of a pretty standard chorus.
Like the song before, this really works well and, with the song being about doing the same thing and going to the ‘same place’, it proves really nice to listen to. Featuring catchy lines such as, “I am not longer afraid of repeats, I know cool place where we could meet“, it’s a song that stands out musically and vocally.
“Skin Surfing” mixes it up abit with a more distortion guitar tone at the beginning, and quite chilled verses, which make sense, with them talking about ‘surfing’. The harmonies are great in this song as well, but are at their best in the chorus, as they again, show their great singing ability.
We finish with the song “Ugly Veg” which is more bass-driven with a groovy bassline over a catchy guitar riff. The track really shows how good this band is with making thing sound simple but stand out, at the same time.
Overall, Are You Sure is a solid fun indie EP with simple but catchy vocals and instrumentation. “Oh George”, “Seaform Islands”, and “Same Places” are the one to listen to. I foresee exciting times for this band in the future, they are worth checking out.
Purchase Peaness Are You Sure EP on iTunes here.
Words by Stuart Irvine
