Peggy Sue (and the Pirates)
Peggy Sue at the beach
Peggy Sue didn’t have the easiest start in her musical career, forming in 2006, being signed in 2008 but not having an album released until 2010. In that time she was constantly touring, supporting well know acts (including Kate Nash, Mumford & Sons and The Maccabees) and playing many, many sessions for BBC 6 music and Channel 4.
I can’t help but think that the industry has been a little bit hard on ol’ Peggy Sue, songs like New Song and Rockabilly pre-date the Soul-Pop epidemic that followed bands like Florence and the Machine and Amy Winehouse, but in many ways they laid the ground work for that type of music. I really feel that the band deserve more recognition for being at the forefront of a new musical style.
Check out New Song, written in 2007, and see if you agree with me.
Peggy Sue’s latest album, Acrobats, is another brilliant effort from the band. The songs still retain powerful vocals and beautiful melodies, but seem to have evolved into something more mature sounding.
One of the best things about the band is the tandem vocals between the two lead singers, Rosa Rex and Katy Klaw. Song and Dance, the latest single, is a fantastic example of this.
The overlaid vocals sound fantastic and unique, it gives the song wonderful texture. I suppose it only really works because Rosa Rex’s vocals are far more powerful than Katy Klaw’s, meaning that she can really push the song while Katy adds some flavour that complements it really well.
The best song on the album in my opinion is Cut My Teeth, it has a wonderful a dark and atmospheric verse, and then it lets all out in the chorus. This is a lesson in tension and release.
Altogether the band sounds like a darker and more mature Florence and The Machine. The vocals might not be as powerful but the themes are darker and the songs are constructed in a better way. If you kind of like Florence and The Machine but aren’t sure about the gimmicky, pop crap like A Kiss With a Fist then Peggy Sue is the band for you.
Let me know what you think in the comment box below.
By Charlie Craven
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