Okay everyone, quick check-in: is there a project you were working on, or plans you were developing, that got put on hold because of COVID? That you put aside with the intention to re-visit, but have since forgotten about or strategically avoided?
Well, it’s time to brush the dust of those ideas and plans, with some motivation from American ambient duo Peals.
Peals is the side-project of William Cashion (Future Islands) and Bruce Willen (ex-Double Dagger). Their second LP, Honey, was released in 2016 on a label called Friends, which went defunct just a year later. As a result, the album went largely under the radar.
When Peals signed with Thrill Jockey, that label thankfully had the motivation and the means to re-release Honey in the summer of 2020. It’s been gradually accumulating fans ever since.
Honey’s appeal might have something to do with its versatility. It’s not as laid-back as week 440 artist Music Within, but you can still use it to fall asleep if you want. It doesn’t have the persistent walking-pace beat of week 394 artist Bels Lontano, but it works as the soundtrack to a long walk. It’s a perfectly balanced cocktail of ambient and post-rock and electro all rolled into one.
So, while I wouldn’t wish for any record label to go defunct, this great little album has emerged from the ashes to become one of my favourite sleeper records of the 2020s.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. The glittering, jingling loop in the background is audio sunlight.
2. The percussion, with that great reverse reverb on the rim hit, is confident but unobtrusive.
3. The rapidly-picked guitars are reminiscent of surf rock, but the sum of this song’s parts is too laid-back to be surf rock. Call it après-surf rock, maybe.
Recommended listening activity:
Giving your failed plans a do-over.