Album Review: Peace - In Love
- Written by Paul Stephen Gettings
Birmingham's Peace have been slowly gathering a great deal of buzz over the last few years. The preeminent kings of the city's thriving music scene, the band's distinctive brand of guitar noise (a bit britpop, a bit shoegaze, a bit grunge, a bit awesome) has clearly been turning heads in high places; In Love, their debut album, comes to us courtesy of label giants Sony Entertainment.
Although opening track 'Higher Than The Sun' commits the cardinal sin of cribbing the name of a classic song that the band have almost certainly heard, its widescreen sound and skyrocket chorus make it an early album highlight. 'Wraith' is one of the older songs here, and like its namesake is a shifting, indistinct beast. Nervy math-inspired guitars give way to an incongruous acid house piano breakdown and that chorus of a thousand Youtube adverts. This is a catchy song, lets just hope that all that forced exposure hasn't spoilt its uplifting melody and unconventional structure.
Breakneck single 'Follow Baby' is probably the best cut here, its abrasive riffs, insistent melody and intense chorus making for one of the singles of the year so far. Closer 'California Daze' is another accomplished piece, with its slow-building pace and a heartwarming vocal performance that seems to beckon movie-style end credits.
The wide diversity of styles and tones found throughout In Love keep things exciting, with the band showing they're comfortable delivering gentle, wobbling hymns like 'Float Forever' alongside rough-edged blasts like 'Follow Baby' and more moody, atmospheric tracks such as the serpentine 'Delicious'. The musicianship here also shows a similarly varied approach, with shoegaze glides, wah-wah stabs and buzzsaw guitars all being folded into the mix.
An almost unavoidable criticism of this album is its lack of originality. Although many bands draw heavily from their influences, and arch nods to musical forbears can be a charming quality in an album, a few of these tracks stray a little too close to their inspirations for comfort. Overall, In Love is ultimately something of a mixed bag; when Peace really cut loose, their snotty, soulful songwriting and impassioned delivery are thrilling and fresh. But the less confident and carefully crafted moments here tend to come across as contrived and at times, downright plagiaristic.