Peaness – In Session for John Kennedy – Radio X – April 1, 2023 – Radio X, London –
Peaness for an otherwise rollicking Saturday night. When they last appeared on these pages it was right before COVID hit the scene and sidelined practically every one.
A depressing sign for much of the music world, those three years in lockdown, and a lot of time with nothing to do.
But what was also the case was the sudden burst of activity in home studios and socially distant sessions. And Peaness, like so many bands who withstood the pandemic are releasing their debut albums.
First meeting at university, members Jess (bass), Balla (guitar) and Rach (drums) built their bond on timeless founding principles of friendship, a desire to escape small town boredom, an embracing of the DIY nature of the music they make, and their close relationships with other local contemporary bands. Their merch often includes handmade limited edition items by Rach’s mum, the band frequently make their own music videos, and their artwork and press shots are all done by close creative friends – Peaness then, is a family affair.
The trio started performing live in July 2015 and since then have gone on to play alongside the likes of We Are Scientists, The Cribs, The Beths, Kero Kero Bonito, The Big Moon, She Drew The Gun and The Lovely Eggs, with festival appearances at TRUCK, 2000 Trees, Green Man, Benicasim, The Great Escape, Indietracks, Handmade Festival and many many more.
Their debut EP “No Fun” was self-released in 2015 and immediately won fans at BBC Introducing, BBC6 Music and BBC Radio 1, leading to limited edition AA singles of ‘I’m not Your Problem / Fortune Favours The Bold’ released via Canadian DIY label Kingfisher Bluez and ‘Same Place / Seafoam Islands’ in early 2017 via Odd Box Records, which sold out of pre-orders in two days.
In May 2017 Peaness singed with UK independent label royalty Alcopop! Records for the release of their second EP, ‘Are You Sure?’. Seeing a sharp upturn in both gig attendance and press coverage, they’ve won a raft of support from the likes of Kerrang! Magazine, Rolling Stone, UPSET Magazine, DORK, The Metro, The Skinny, Clash Magazine, Drowned In Sound and many more, for their playful but perfectly crafted power-pop. It’s a partnership which has so far proved lucrative, with the band’s core principles aligning nicely with Alcopop! Records’ sense of fun and staunch DIY ethic.
Spending most of 2018 and 2019 working on new material and slotting in further live dates – touring with The Beths, Kero Kero Bonito, She Drew The Gun, BC Camplight) everything’s looking pretty rosy right now down on the Peaness veg patch.
Peaness self-released a song about Brexit named “Breakfast” May 2019, delaying it’s release for over a year, mimicking the delays of Brexit and performed live on BBC 6 Music for Marc Riley and XFM with Jon Kennedy to promote the single.
2020 looked set to be their busiest year yet, with their first major UK tour selling out in almost all venues in Jan/Feb, the release of their latest single “Kaizen” – which went on to receive multiple plays on BBC Radio One, as well as being playlisted for SEVEN weeks on BBC 6 Music, and sold out of self released 7″ singles – instagram DMs from Marc Ronson, a second live session at BBC 6 Music . The trio had planned to release their album in 2020 but decided to hold off until they were able to tour live again.
The moral of the story? If you’re thinking about giving peas a chance, you probably should – the world could use a little more of their sunshine-laden indie-pop to brighten its gloomy days of late.
And with that . . .Press play and relax.
Or . . .
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