Whateve your opinion of Dundee's Peski Kings, there's no denying that right now they are one of the most enthusiastic, passionate, hard-working and downright enjoyable bands around. That their music is not "yer standard indie" style of things is actually more of a testament to how popular they've become in such a short space of time. A while back I reviewed their first steps in recording themselves, a demo of a clutch of their songs that showed a good deal of what theband were all about, albeit in a "demo quality" form. Well, they've now gone into the studios to record, as new, practically their whole set as it stood at the beginning of 2007, and the following is the result.
That they open with traditional set closer, "Super Fantastic", is a neat touch as things get off to a rousing start. But the one thing that you immediately notice is the quality of recording - whoever produced this, deserves a medal as, right away, you get the immediate flavour, feel and energetic approach of what the Peski Kings are all about. Pefectly recorded, the song is a slice of commercial joy that has been produced as a solid, jaunty and driving slice of indie-pop, as the drums drive it forward, throbbing bas provides the foundations, while the combination of electric and acoustic guitars blends to perfection and, above all this the lead male vocal combines with triple vocal harmonies to give a sprightly beginning to the album. Following this we get, "It's Your Time" (forgive me if I've got any of these titles wrong - I've not got a track list and I'm not on their site), a track that starts with a wonderful electric guitar squall before it drops ans the sound of strummed acoustic guitar and Becky's soaring voice take the helm, joined by the male vocal harmonies as the rest of the band enter and the track begins to flow. There's a wistful, yearning quality to the lead vocal and harmonies, while the song itself has a really endearing effect. As it goes, it takes a few twists and turns, maintaining its jaunty rhythms and eldctro-acoustic folk-rock trademarks, a perfect blend of modern indie-pop and seventies-sounding folk-rock a la Richard & Linda Thompson, only happier.
Third one in and, for the first time on CD, their trad set opener, "Just Need a Good Song", the first track I ever heard by the band and one which just blew me away the first time I heard it. The central key to it is the twangy, country-ish, almost Albert Lee styled elctric guitar riff from lead guitarist Nicky, something that hasn't always been spot on in certain gigs, but which, here, is recorded perfectly, as you can't resist the urge to leap around the room to its delights. But it's so much more than a riff - it's a really insistent song. Delivered by main male vocalist Barry with a vocal that's strong and clear, it's a good-time song with harmonies in the verses and an insistent chorus, as the elecxtric guitar drives it forward amid whoops and intricately-timed harmonies from Becky, as the depth is provided by the acoustic guitar an the rhythm section of Decland and Garry drive it all forward. A neat lead break is the icing on the cake, although the "na na na" lines are tad "dry", and almost aren't needed, but that's a very minor quibble on what is a wonderfully smiling track. "Stay With Me Tonight" is the anthemic, lighters-on, arms-waving, swaying from side-to-side slice of strong, almost AOR-folk, as Becky delivers a soaring vocal performance, multi-tracked in the choruses for added effect and as gorgeously strong a slice of balladic eldctroc-acoustic as there is. The song practically sizzles in a brief electric lead break, but above the flowing rhythms and depth of instrumentation, it's Becky's vehicle and she sings the warm-sounding song brilliantly, unfailing in its emotional effect.
After this, the gloriously bouncy uptempo pop that is "The Real Me" comes as a superb antidote to the fireside warmth of the previous track. Over solid strident rhythms, it's Becky's soaring vocal aided by Barry's vocal on the choruses, that steals the show once again, as the guitars provide the textural riffing and tasty chords on a song that is both anthemic and pop-y at the same time.
A spiralling slice of solid bass from Declan begins "You're Number One" as Becky's soaring vocal sails in with the verses, the drums virtually thunder in (for this band they thunder, that is) and the vocal flows on, before the guitarists kick in, and the band as a whole deliver a driving slice of indie-pop that's really enthusiastic and climbs to a peak before dropping back to the bass intro, joined by drums, and then the combined vocal hamronies take the reigns as it all starts up once again and drives into the catchy chorus, a joy of a song for sure. "I Write All The Rules", while being the baby of lead vocalist Becky as far as the song goes, is actually the strongest band performance on here so far, as the spot-on sound of acosutic and electric guitars are heard as clear and as crisp as you'd hope for, while the song itself, just a short but urgent and exciting sea of solid folk-indie, starts softly with acoustic guitars and Becky's high-flying vocals, as the band practically explodes into life and the adictive song captures you in full flight. Gorgeous, insistent and heartwarming, it's also driving and almost dares you not to leap about to its combination of lightness and strength.
"Many Moons Ago" is another anthemic ballad, this time a showcase for the vocal harmonies and combined lead vocals of Barry and Becky, as the acoustic guitar and bass become the lead vehicles over lurching, crunchy, crisp soundingn drumming and a ringing electric backdrop, the two vocals delivering a delicious sea of soaring harmonies on a quite breathtakingly beautiful song. I've described "To Be Loved" as the band's "hit single", and, while it still is, it's a testament to the quality of the rest of the tracks and this recording that it doesn't sound so head and shoulders above the rest as it used to do. That said, it's still one excellent song, this time fetauring a lead vocal from Barry, with harmonies from Becky on the choruses, and the combination is a winner. Meanwhile Nicky provides another superb sounding circular electric riff that is the central musical focus as the rhythm section drives along, the vocals soar together and the song twists and turns. Perhaps not exactly the stuff top ten singles are made of, but, in their world of indie-folk-rock, very much the equivalent.
The album closes with "Do What Feels Right", as trademark an end to the album as you'd expect, with all the best parts of what makes this band so special, all in evidence - the jangly acoustic guitar, the ringing lead electric guitar, rock solid, mid-paced rhythm sction work, male and female vocals combining on verses and gloriously full-sounding harmony choruses, as another, this time more urgent, anthemic pop-ballad draws things to a close.
As I said, a superb quality recording that brings the best out of the band - in terms of the Dundee scene, they remain unique, they are a young band and hopefully have abright future ahead of them - that they are not producing View-like belters or Daze-like stunners may mean that they have to work harder to build the audiences they so richly deserve, but you do feel that as the band progresses, with songwriting already of this quality and performance that's even better, the future is most definitely a bright one. In America, they'd clean up - for now, Scotland awaits......