Peachfuzz - So Here We Are Tonight [CD]

Rat Patrol Records

May 27, 2008, 09:59 AM

So, my first Altsounds review, and if I’m honest I wasn’t sure what to expect when the 2008 Peachfuzz album – So Here We Are Tonight -arrived at my humble abode. However for me, the title was a good starting point. It’s storylike, and the album certainly didn’t disappoint when it came to stories. Teenage-style angst, the terrible reality of adult life, and broken hearts are themes that seem to run throughout the album. The lyrics are gut-wrenching and heartfelt, almost poetic if you read them alone without sound and if I’m truthful (which I always am), I was expecting the album to be a little sombre and possibly even a little depressing.

But the boys of Peachfuzz (Adam Jones, Lewis Kreft and Jon Roche) have managed to skilfully combine their musical and lyrical ability to create something that is catchy and uplifting – or “indie power pop” as PLUGGED IN magazine recently referred to the Peachfuzz vibe. The album moves from wild nights out and the resultant lonely emptiness in Lost Weekend, to the disappointment of adulthood in Deep Blue Dream, to the beautiful soulful lyrics of a heartbroken (and slightly jealous and stalker-like, methinks) dumpee in my favourite track, Cease to Turn.

The guitar riffs will stick in your head all day, you’ll be practising the harmonies in the car, and it’s quite possible that you’ll find yourself playing this album ridiculously loudly in your bedroom, jumping on the bed and playing air guitar.

I’ve been reading lots of comparisons between Peachfuzz and bands like Teenage Fanclub and The Ramones, but I’d like to quell those – Peachfuzz are just Peachfuzz. They’re not like anyone else, and they certainly don’t need to be. I don’t want them to be, I want them to carry on producing this uplifting, memorable, but full-of-substance music.

So Here We Are Tonight is a total result of an album, and I can just imagine that a Peachfuzz live gig is amazing – I’ll be looking out for them in my hometown and I really think you should, too.