Peace’s debut EP – EP Delicious, released at the tail end of last year – was an exciting slice of indie rock: punchy, memorable and in places experimental, it was an impressive offering from the Birmingham quartet. But can In Love, their first full-length album, live up to the hype and reputation brought about by their arrival?
Throughout In Love, it sounds like Peace can’t quite settle on one particular
sound. While there’s a definite common thread running through the whole album, each
song has its own style and personality, borrowing elements from bands past and
present. It’s not necessarily a bad thing – it lends the album a kind of
instant familiarity – but at the same time it feels slightly muddled. Lead
single Wraith begins as a Foals-esque
romp before a nice mid-song piano breakdown kicks in, while Lovesick, which appears early in the
album, could easily have been written by The Cure (and bears a passing
resemblance, intentional or otherwise, to Friday
I’m In Love).
Elsewhere on the album, opener Higher Than The Sun is an upbeat affair,
introducing the listener to the hints of psychedelia that are scattered
throughout Peace’s indie-rock sound. The album has its fair share of quieter
moments too, though. Float Forever is
a lilting mid-album reprieve, while California
Daze – which previously appeared on EP
Delicious – is a meandering indie ballad.
So does In Love live up to the buzz surrounding Peace, the NME tours with the
likes of Django Django, and the rave reviews of their debut EP? Unfortunately,
not quite. In Love is definitely a
good album, but it’s not groundbreaking; Peace have given it their best shot at
living up to the reputation of EP
Delicious, however don’t offer anything new to the mix.
In Love by Peace is out on the 25th of March via Columbia.
ES
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