theredsunband - Peapod

Wed 29th Sep, 2004 in Music Reviews

More often than not, an album requires at least several listens to be fully appreciated and understood. Sometimes, however, an album like theredsunband’s Peapod comes along that is so startlingly beautiful that subsequent listens only prove that you got it the first time round. While not overtly accessible in terms of radio affability, excluding of course the ridiculously catchy Devil’s Song, Peapod possesses a rare accord between the vocals and music beneath, making the record easily received.

Serene in the vane of Mazzy Star, the band’s debut sees the plaintive mingle with underlying warmth, guided by singer, Sarah’s smooth and spacious vocals. While Peapod may not have a strong thematic thread running through it, the mood is consistent: hazy, gentle and uncomplicated. That said, plenty takes place on each of the records eleven tracks; specifically, the combination of crunching guitars and atmospheric tambourines work exceedingly well as they intertwine and even appear to originate from the one sound.

Although Devil’s Song is irrefutably the most infectious on Peapod, the current single is not necessarily the strongest. Ol’ Mexico which bearly extends past the one and a half minute mark, is one of the album’s stand out tracks. Infused with melancholy, Sarah’s vocals are striking, highlighting the song’s lamenting lyrics.

I wanna live in ol’ Mexico
I wanna live with a ranchero
I wanna spend my days smoking dope
oh-oh oh-oh oh-oh oh-oh…
I wanna live in the middle of the desert
I wanna let the sunsets burn…

On the other end of the scale, the seven and a half minute Astrovisionary is also a superior track. By far the most mournful on the record, the final track illustrates the extent of Sarah’s lyrical ability.

I try to image what your eyes would see
or if you were a cat like me…
I breathe too shallow and think too deep
A singer with no song, that is me

As was demonstrated by Mazzy Star in the mid nineties, this style of music does have some difficulty crossing over to a more mainstream audience. Becoming an anthem for alienation and remorse, the band’s most renown track Fade Into You did penetrate said mainstream, yet failed to take any other of Mazzy Star’s work with it. With exceptional song writing ability and a knack for both consistency and variety that Mazzy Star never quite achieved, it seems likely that theredsunband will have no such problem.