Peachfuzz – We Are Solid State CD
Peachfuzz – We Are Solid State CD (Bombed Out Records)
UK powerpop faves Peachfuzz return with a new line-up and a swaggering, heavier sound for ‘We Are Solid State’, an impressive third album that comes loaded with baited hooks seemingly designed to remind us why we all fell in love with music in the first place. I don’t know if the titular reference to outmoded technology is a tongue-in-cheek poke at the way the album packs in a potentially unfashionable mix of heavy guitar wrangling, breakneck intros, singalong choruses, prolonged solos and false endings, but don’t be fooled into dismissing this as being somehow out of touch – ‘We Are Solid State’ is ambitious, fun, loud and unapologetically rock ‘n roll, and the band take great care to ensure that it remains a cheese-free zone at all times. The album sticks with familiar Peachfuzz themes of imperfect love, human frailty and all of life’s other dramas, but each of the ten songs offered here possess a fresh, honest energy which suck you in and leave you beaming. Opening track ‘Down To Me’ has more than a touch of Mike Ness about it as the band hurtle through a tale of a fractured, faltering relationship, continuing both theme and pace with ‘Close Enough’ before the jagged-edged grind of ‘Like I Do’ kicks in. ‘If It Makes It Easier’ takes you back to the glory days of Teenage Fanclub, but if this has been an overly used comparison for past Peachfuzz tunes, then ‘Blood On The Moon’ quickly rips that notion apart with an infectious, bluesy riff that brings to mind classic-era Rolling Stones. The spirit of Steve Earle and some atmospheric harmonica haunt the eerie ‘Nowhere Calling’ as the band chart life in a dead end town, then roll into ‘Just Give Me Something’, a powerful call for clarity in a world where “the satellite’s down, the signal is blurred.” Beguiling acoustic track ‘Break Me Again’ manages to be both caustic and charming as it attacks hypocrites who will happily “sing at the funerals, then piss on the graves”. Like a sniper holding his breath before firing off a killing shot, it offers a moment of relative calm before the album delivers what is for my money its most impressive brace of tracks. The wonderful ‘For Your Love’ considers how even people with the best of intentions are capable of damaging each other in the name of love, all played out against the colourful backdrop of a bank holiday in a small mining town where kids go swimming in colliery slurry while their fathers organise a whip-round for visiting strippers at the local welfare hall. With its colourful narrative driven along by a heavy, double-pronged guitar thrust, this track reaches ramming speed before the album slides into the stunning ‘Oh Cordelia!’, an epic, glorious ode to the heart-shaped trainwreck that drives all of our lives. Between layers of shimmering twin guitars that seemingly call out to one another across the lyrics, the song offers more than a touch of optimism and allows the album to conclude on a (literal) high note – love may not be perfect, it seems to say, but it’s all we’ve got to hold onto, so whatever you do, keep working at it and don’t let go. ‘We Are Solid State’ is a great record, and the best offering yet from the Peachfuzz boys. Liam Ronan
