Power pop
Bouncy power-pop from Welsh trio Peachfuzz with gruff vocals and a 90s American indie-rock feel on their sophomore album; they verge on pop-punk at times but have a rockier edge. The album begins with the fast paced ‘Sudden Glow’; a great riff and nice harmonies bringing to mind early R.E.M. slightly. ‘Let’s Get Healed’ is jangly and indie in a Sebadoh kind of way, even perhaps a bit reminiscent of Shudder To Think at times (occasionally they bring to mind The Manic Street Preachers too; but that’s mostly due to the vocal tone). Peachfuzz are more pop-punk though and all the way through this record there are danceable tunes that are great to sing along to.
Adam Jones gruff vocals are emotive and a great counterpoint to the poppy tunes and his guitar work is solid and concise. Their sound is quite bass heavy and Lewis Kreft provides meaty, sometimes complex bass lines. The 90s influence is quite obvious but you can’t really pinpoint it to any specific bands most of the time, there’s just an underlying feeling of nostalgia which pervades every tune with the odd twang of a slightly familiar riff, but these are often fleeting and quickly get swallowed into the whole. ‘Static On The Dial’ is particularly fuzz-soaked and the vocal harmonies and juicy bass makes it particularly memorable.
Adam often sings about music shows, memories and small town living ‘Yr Sons And Daughters’ is one that combines all of these and lyrically it has quite an impact. Much of the album does and luckily they have the melodies to back it up. This is a really solid record; great tunes, bouncy rhythms courtesy of Jon Roche’s drums, an honest feel and a nostalgic 90s twang which nicely counteracts all the dreadful 80s sounding rubbish that’s around at the moment.