What ever your opinion of the Peski Kings songs and style, the one thing that you can't deny is their effort and determination. From just over a year ago when they created their first good quality demo to further down the line and re-recording those tracks as well as adding to them, up to now, having lost a drummer, whereupon they head right back into the studio armed with a new one, proceed to re-record all the old favourites and even add a couple of brand new tracks to these!! The result is an 11 track album that plays like an album, sounds like an album and is the best quality recording they've produced to date. That it is also choc full of songs that manage to be solid and substantial, commercial and memorable, plus all warm and fluffy at the same time. You can dance, you can curl up by the fireside or you can just sit back, relax and enjoy it – all life is here!!
They begin with a new track, “Deep Inside” that starts with lead female vocalist Becky and lead male vocalist Barry on dual lead vocals and harmonies that showcase both vocals really well, the two possessing a mid-range tone that just oozes glorious harmonies from every crevice, while the band play this chugging rhythm combined with incisive lead electric and rhythm acoustic guitar work, the two providing this crisp and texturally sound lead work, while the rhythm section already reveal that they are the strongest, most flowing duo the band's so far had play for them. The song itself is warm, flowing and simply gorgeous. “It's Your Time” features Becky on lead vocal, multi-tracked on the chorus, and showcases her warm, sultry, mid-range fullness of pitch, moving up a notch on the choruses and the vocal bridge. The lead guitar work from Nicky rings out with effective simplicity, notes filling the air, while the rhythm section chug along with swing and enthusiasm on a song that's more relaxed than the opener, but no less enjoyable. “Sleepy Day Dreamer” is altogether faster, with a seriously chunky lead guitar and a much stronger rhythm foundation while Becky's lead vocal is higher and soars across a moving sea of verses and exquisite choruses, that voice lifting you up while the brief but superb three part harmonies that appear, are a really neat touch. Nicky's guitar work is solid and driving, really making the music come alive as the song flows forward, a mix of memorable and catchy but also seriously reflective while still managing to have the bounce trademark of the Peskis in flight.
“Just Need A Good Song” opens with strummed acoustic guitar before they finally manage to get that twangy electric guitar lead hook, just spot on, for it is the musical phrase around which the song revolves and when they get it as right as this, leads to irresistibility and then some. Meanwhile, Barry takes the lead vocal with Nicky on the harmonies on the chorus, as the band positively fly along on a song that has “good time” stamped all over it and his vocal also flows and takes off, contrasting with and complementing Becky's previous lead vocals to perfection, giving that extra dimension to the band's overall sound, and another gem of commercial indie-pop. “Stay Tonight” is a ballad with a moving lead vocal from Becky, starting slowly on acoustic guitar and bass before turning into one of those “arms-in-the-air” swaying from side to side, anthemic ballads so beloved of the better indie-pop merchants and several aor bands, only here, we have a rich, warm and full-sounding anthemic flow that is purity itself when it comes to rich, warm pop ballads, but an unexpectedly sharp lead guitar break towards the end really lifts the whole thing up a notch before settling back to its river of dreams. “Sean The Lazy” opens with uptempo lurching drumming, a simple chiming lead guitar figure that follows it, a lead vocal from Barry that's quickly enriched with three-part harmony choruses before the whole song surges forward on a jaunty, bouncy and flowing slice of songwriting that's a positive joy to hear, so inventive yet at the same time so simple you wonder why no-one's ever done it this well before!! There's a hook-as-chorus that's sooooooo memorable and enchanting, while the song does take the occasional twist and turn but never loses sight of its qualities, Barry's vocal a mid-range flight embellished by Becky's gorgeous higher register tones on the chorus. A charming, solid song that you can't tire of hearing. “Don't Know If That's True” is a solid mid-paced driver of a song with Becky on lead vocal, sounding more than confident and providing one of the best performances on the album, with a solid delivery on a song that's as much driving ballad as it is indie-pop anthem, taking off on the short hooks, flowing on the verses and quite gorgeous on its multi-tracked vocal harmonies as the band chug along with ringing guitar tones to the fore, again the presence of extra multi-part vocal harmonies, brief but a really original and neat touch as the guitar and rhythm section surge to the final notes. Then we get “Hey Yeah”, the band providing a number that wouldn't have sounded out of place on the soundtracks to the films “Grease” or “Hairspray” as a slice of sixties-influenced pop practically defies you not to get out of your seat and dance along, Barry's lead vocal surging along neatly. I would say that it could possibly have been given a bit of a faster treatment but save that for when you see them live – for now, this is bouncy, dancey, poppy and a great little song built on the time honoured traditions of rock 'n' roll pop simplicity as commercial excellence. With Barry on lead vocal, Becky on harmonies, “To Be Loved” is fantastic – they've recorded this perfectly, finally achieving the necessary balance of strength, surge, flow and full-sounding band delivery on one of their longest standing songs that is the epitome of commercially spot on, memorable in a good way and a song yet again, of which you never tire of hearing, the addition of a three part appellate harmony mid-section, still such a superb touch as the song then surges ahead once more, twisting on a wheel before driving off into the distance on what makes it so substantial and enjoyable in the first place, the whole band cohesive and a delight. “The Real Me” is as addictive as the rest, another chugger of a number with Becky on sultry, soaring mid-range vocal as the band drive forward to perfection with a chorus that sticks in your head, the song again twisting and turning briefly but largely staying true to its oft-repeated hok embellished with harmonies from the male vocalists before finally leaping off the cliff in a flare of electric guitar and driving rhythm section work. The album ends on the solid, muscular and guitars driven strains of “Super Fantastic”, finishing things with an uplifting Peskis anthem as the acoustic guitar adds more texture to the instrumental work – as it has on many of the previous songs – while the band with Barry's lead vocal and soaring multi-part harmonies, take the song ever upwards, the entire song as uplifting as they come, the refrain of the chorus once more proving charming, strong and irresistible to singing along. All in all, a positive triumph and, in the world of pure solid indie-pop, they simply don't come any better than this.
