Music never ceases to surprise me. I like to think that if a band had been playing music that sounded like The Sonics after a punk binge and topped off with a dash of Wall of Sound for 30 years, then I might know them.
On the assumption that if I don’t, you might not either, then I’m talking about The Peawees.
And the Italians are here with their seventh album, some six years after the sixth.
“One Ride,” presumably not named after a new Microsoft cloud-based storage system, tugs your coat with “Banana Tree”—and I don’t say this lightly—has hints of latter-period Hellacopters. It’s in the energy of the lead guitar. Of course, these were my notes before I found out they’ve literally just been on tour with Nicke Andersson’s band of gods, but hey ho, it seemed revelatory at the time.
“Drive” continues the vibe, no preamble, no excess fat. Let’s go. That’s all.
And that power-pop sugar rush is right through the melody of “Plastic Bullets” too. So ingrained in its history, it fits right in.
“The Wolf” howls with a Latin flavour, and that seems to be the theme of the warm breeze of “Lost In The Middle.” And when things get darker with “She Cries As She Kills,” it only serves to highlight that while there’s a common thread running through a lot of these, there are plenty of shades in them too.
It gets back up to punk speed with “Who’s The Enemy?” and it’s not too much of a stretch to imagine The Ramones doing it. Drummer Fabio Clemente anchors down the ’60s-sounding rock n’ roll of “Spell On Me,” an outtake from “The River” if ever there was.
There’s such an infectious glee about The Peewees, too. “Before I Die” seems to celebrate life, and “One Ride” nails glam rock just for grins.
And the last one, “You’ll Never Be Mine Again,” has a go at Americana, just because it can.
All of human life is here, and it has all come at The Peawees since 2018, but they’re here now, and “One Ride” is a glorious, day-glo statement of intent.
Whether you’ve got everything they’ve ever done or are a novice like me, there’s too much good stuff to resist here.
Rating: 8.5/10
REVIEW: THE PEAWEES – ONE RIDE (2024)
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