Peace - Live

Having been ranked 14th on NME's 50 Best Albums of 2013, nominated for the BBC's Sound of 2013 poll and doing several major headline tours both in the UK and USA, it's needless to say that 2013 seems to have been a pretty good year for Peace. Their debut album In Love, released in April this year, broke in at number 16 on the charts in its first week of release. Don't seem bad for a couple of rookies.

This may be why, on their first night of a double bill at the Shepherd's Bush Empire, the crowd outside are so keyed up and rearing to get in there. In fact, when they do, the lucky few were literally elbowing past each other, sprinting to get to the barriers. They seem to have attracted an unlikely bunch; obviously you've got your indie kids (only to be expected, it is a Peace gig after all) although there is a group of girls standing behind me, wearing nothing but crop tops, leggings and hoodies for warmth, enthusing over the greatness of helmet-haired You Me At Six. Brilliant. But no matter, everyone's equal in the fight for a front row view.

Superfood

This motley crew of fans started piling in very quickly, and even before Superfood, the first support act, came on they were piled at least 10 deep. By the time Peace actually do get on stage, all tiers of seating and all of the stalls were full to the brim with eager, sweaty fans, craning their necks to get a glimpse of the performance on stage.

Superfood acted as a sort of aperitif for the evening. Owing to their limited material, they lasted only half an hour, but it was everything you expect from them: awkward, brilliant, raw. Superfood preceded Drenge, the second support act for the evening. Drenge, two brothers from Derbyshire, were great. If the fervent nodding of Peace drummer Dom Boyce (who gave a cheeky look-in from the side of the stage) was anything to go by, it was going very well. As a band, their self-titled debut CD can't hold a candle to their live performance.

Drenge

As the stage is set for Peace, excitement gradually mounts. Then, the music drops, the lights go down and they swagger on stage with all the confidence their new-found success has given them. The opening number is Waste of Paint, which sets the tone nicely for the songs to come. Peace aren't very engaging as performers, preferring to shut their eyes, stare at their shoes and instruments and generally make as little eye contact with the screaming fans as possible. The between-song chatter is kept to a minimum, although as Harrison Koisser, lead singer and guitarist, attempts to throw a towel out to the crowd, he remarks in the most nonchalant way imaginable "I was born to throw. High." as said towel stops just short of the barrier.

However, all of that doesn't matter. The strength of their material makes up for their slightly self-conscious performance. As they bound through the tunes from the album (notably Follow Baby, Higher Than The Sun, Toxic, Float Forever, Lovesick and Wraith) they manage to stick in a few surprises as well: halfway through Harrison introduces one of their new songs, entitled Money; they end the main set on 10-minute trippy anthem 1998 and even stick in their recent cover of Wham!'s Last Christmas during the encore.

As the last notes of Bloodshake echo through the room, I can't help but think that they are truly a very, very, very good band. Not just good, but really rather brilliant. Well worth the sore feet and throbbing ears.

Check out this alternate review of the gig by my friend Georgia

Peace - In Love

This last week has seen the release of Peace's debut album In Love and already they've enjoyed considerable success, taking into account the fact that they're just four lads from good old Blighty. NME lauded them as "Britain's best live band", giving the album a 9/10 and finishing with "this is their time". None of that is misplaced. They do rock anthem in a whole new way. Take Follow Baby, for instance. No guitar-shredding solo, no moments of rock 'n' roll diva behavior, but it manages to combine the rock 'n' roll lifestyle with surprisingly thoughtful lyrics, like "I'm scared to die but maybe a faithless bribe could save me".

The title of the album encompasses everything it's about; first love, awkward crushes, teenage fantasies and lust. The subject of love and all its friends may be a bit overdone by now, but because it's so universal it can never get old - the trick is finding an unexplored niche. That's pretty much what Peace have done. They've taken the gawkiness and obsessiveness of teenage love and turned it into something that seems glamorous and really damn awesome. Float Forever is an example of the "lighter in each hand" kind of song, but the tone is something completely different; it pleads with you to trust them, despite all your faults. I don't know about you lot, but I'm definitely willing to do so. 

The band themselves are also "rock and roll" but with a twist. The line up is Harrison Koisser doing lead vocals and guitar, his brother Sam Koisser on bass, Doug Castle on guitar and Dominic Boyce on drums. Even the way they dress isn't quite right for a rock band (in the Follow Baby video Harrison is wearing a green be-sequined top under a leather jacket with Marilyn Monroe on the back) but it works so well. They're not just a pretty face either, they're clearly highly intelligent and very well spoken, which is something you're lucky to find in people that cool. And there's something slightly odd and disconcerting about their music videos. Bloodshake takes psychedelia as an inspiration and as a consequence is hard to fathom. Wraith sees the boys staring nonplussed straight past a pair of scantily clad women that have the incredible ability to move their bums independently of the rest of their bodies. But again, it all comes together in a beautifully quirky and individual way.

These guys are definitely destined for something big, and if they don't get it by the end of this year, I'll eat my hat.

Rating: 9/10

Recommended tracks:

Toxic (with Lucy Rose on back up!!)

Higher Than The Sun (")

Waste Of Paint