PEACH PIT

Witty, sometimes happy, often dark lyrics paired with satirical storytelling of themes like love, heartbreak, friendship and loss, held up by soft vocals, effervescent electric guitar solos and dynamic drum rhythms. This classic yet unique take on the globally treasured genre of indiepop, with a bit of self-deprecating humour and sarcastic memes, has put the Canadian group Peach Pit at the quintessence of the alternative music scene ever since their emergence and the release of their debut EP in 2016. Since then, it’s been a rumbly ride for the enthralling four-piece, one that got even windier when the music industry got put on a sudden hold and the pandemic had an unfortunate series of plans for the band. But in true Peach Pit-fashion, there was no thought of ever settling down or putting their feet up. Two albums and two years later, the world has finally calmed down and the happy Canadians are back on the road. And how they missed it. And we them.

“I feel like our albums are like time markers in a way. They serve as a time capsule of memories from specific parts of our lives. So when I think about ‘From 2 to 3’, I think about the time when we released our second record ‘You and Your Friends’, how we were unable to tour it, and then how we worked on a third one and released it just like that. That’s the pandemic for me. The album is a way of saying COVID 19. In an artsy way,”, states lead guitarist Christopher Vanderkooy when thinking about the band’s last couple of years. Compared to other musical acts out there, it seems like a berserk thing to do, to release an album at the beginning of a global pandemic and then another one right after, without ever being able to perform the first one live. Looking at the Vancouver-based group’s stage presence now, it’s easy to tell how happy they are to be back playing in front of live crowds across the world – they were one of the first groups to put on a livestream gig back in 2020. Playing live has always been an essential part of being artists to the quartet. So how did it feel to go without it for such a long time? “We recorded our second album ‘You and Your Friends’ and released it right after the pandemic hit. We had just been writing for a while already, so we naturally got into writing the third record,”, tells vocalist and frontman Neil Smith about the early days of the pandemic, before continuing on, “I think when you’re making a record, the gratification process that you feel off releasing the music is so slow because you make it and it feels good, but then you don’t get to share it for a while. And by the time you do get to share it with everyone, it doesn’t mean what it meant to you right after you wrote it. And when we go and play on stage, it’s like you play a song and there’s this immediate reaction. And that is so much more satisfying and feels so good rather than this long delay waiting to be able to get the music out.”

But with the lockdown and global uncertainty allowing close to no estimate as to when touring would be possible again, the band had to find other ways of making the process of creating music more fun and interesting. Consisting of bassist Peter Wilton and drummer Mikey Pascuzzi, as well as the aforementioned Smith and Vanderkooy, the four friends have all known each other long before the inception of Peach Pit. Thus, it’s unsurprising that being together, and letting their energies and ideas bounce off each other, has always been an integral part of how the band functions and upholds. One aspect that got especially enforced during the pandemic, as singer Smith remembers: “For the newest album, we had more of a vision for what we wanted the record to sound like. We were listening to a lot of oldies and went into it with the plan of not adding tons of crazy guitar and vocal effects to it. We wanted it to sound like it was just us playing in a room together. That was our main goal. And so it was really fun to make the record because it was actually just us playing in a room together. We recorded the whole album live right there and then together in the studio.”

I feel like our albums are like time markers. ‘From 2 to 3’ is a way of saying COVID 19. In an artsy way.

- Christopher Vanderkooy

This made for an intimate, unique touch to the stellar record made up of eleven heartfelt tracks that stun with yet another well-balanced combination of playful guitar riffs and thoughtful lyrics trailed by Neil Smith’s wispy yet wistful vocals that trace through stories of life, love and loss. It’s an album that makes you stop and listen for a second, also thanks to its small surprises, as guitarist Vanderkooy tells: “With our song ‘Last Days of Lonesome’, at the end of the last chorus, when we’re about to go into the outro, I started picking the strings hard to remind the guys to not forget about the outro. And then that was the take that ended up in the final version of the song, but it wasn’t even supposed to be there. You can actually hear that instrument trying to pull the rest in. Those are the little things that make the album so special.”

Listening to the record, Peach Pit’s signature, always opposing, contrasting take on indie-pop shines brighter than ever – catchy, sometimes sombre, but never anything but addictive sounds parked against often melancholic, thoughtful lyrics that give their music its special something that frequently makes it worth going back to time and time again. Just like the quartet, their music is both chill and easy-going, while also relatable and inspiring. It’s easy to tell that their songs are commonly held up by real stories, real people and real experiences the band has made. Names of friends appear as song titles, drunken nights and ugly mornings get discussed openly and complex relationships are given a tender ending. “We’re big on breakups. There’s a song called ‘Everything About You’ on the album, which is the first true love song that I ever wrote for somebody,”, expresses vocalist Smith about his inspirations behind the record’s tracks. “The whole album is about everything leading up to the pandemic and then what it was like being locked up inside. When I was writing the lyrics, I was thinking a lot about all the people in my life that mean a lot to me. About how crummy it is to not be able to see people on a daily basis and really connect with them the same way that we could before. And then also the only other thing that was really heavy on my mind was stopping drinking a few years before.”

It was really fun to make the record because it was just us playing in a room together. We recorded it live there and then in the studio.

- Neil Smith

It seems that from start to finish, ‘From 2 to 3’ is settled very close to Smith’s heart, with one of his best friends even receiving her own track on the album: “I was hanging out with my friend Vicky and she told me how she had dated lots of musicians in the past, but nobody had ever written a song about her. So I got the hint. Her birthday was coming up, so I thought, “I’m going to write a song for her birthday”. She absolutely loves it now.” Even the overlying theme and the record’s title are upheld by Smith’s experiences, with many songs having the nighttime as an overarching theme and the title being inspired by the singer waking up at 2 am one night after a nightmare and staying up for an hour. Back then, he just noted it down as an idea, but as the artist states, “once the title is written down somewhere, you have to stick to it”. It wasn’t until later that the Vancouver-born group discovered that the album was also their move from their second to the third fulllength release, with vocalist Smith laughing, “I flip flop back and forth on whether it‘s a little bit too clever for me or not”.

Besides their fun, yet thought-provoking musical endeavours, Peach Pit have made a true name for themselves thanks to their unique online presence and carefree humour. Discussing the importance of social media for the group and the music industry in general nowadays, they all agree that it’s a kind of necessary evil that turned out as a silver lining in the dark clouds once they had found their distinctive image and way of working with it. It’s authenticity without limits and a realness that has given their dedicated fanbase a true way of interacting with the group and relating to their experiences and music. They never take themselves too seriously, which, according to frontman Smith, has been a constant aim for the band: “I think in the earlier days, we took a lot of inspiration from Mac DeMarco. He was just this dude being completely himself on stage, and we realised that we don’t need to pretend to be anything that we’re not, you know? We can just have fun and be ourselves. I think people like it when you have that sort of integrity where you’re being real, and not taking it too seriously. Don’t take yourself too seriously, that’s definitely an important thing for us.” There seems to be a communal agreement on this, as guitarist Vanderkooy continues: “I think we’re all good at keeping each other in check over it. As time has gone on, we’ve learned to let go of the preciousness of what we think we’re doing. It is kind of like its own entity at this point that we’re all working on. But I think we’re only getting less serious about it as the time goes on.”

Hailing from the depths of Canada, Peach Pit have been making waves with their chill indie-rock-pop musings ever since their first EP and have since then become a household name in any indie kid’s favourite playlists. Unapologetically themselves with clever lyricisms and infectious guitar and bass lines, the band’s eclectic history is now three full-length records strong, having survived the pandemic and come out of it on the better end. Despite their huge global success and sold-out shows all around the world, the four friends have never lost their down-to-earthness and gratitude for whatever (positive) surprise comes their way. Quite the opposite – Peach Pit know who they are, are never afraid to share it with the world and show no signs of slowing down any time soon, as Smith outlines: “We’re definitely less serious and less afraid. You know, when we recorded our second album, it was our first time working with a major label. And I feel like we put all this pressure on ourselves like it was either going to be the end of the world and nobody was ever going to listen to our band again, or we were going to become the biggest superstars in the world. Neither of those things happened. Some people listened to the record and some people still come to our shows. And I think after that happened, we realised that it actually wasn’t such a big deal. So now all we have to do is have a good time. And any of the extra stuff that happens around it is just a bonus.”

Written by Laura Weingrill / Photography by Mackenzie Walker