English four piece, Peace, are back with a brand new album, titled ‘Kindness Is The New Rock And Roll’, out today via Caroline Australia.
It’s been three years since Peace were swelling up tents at festivals, turning guitar cynics into rock and roll dreamers with their indulgent mixture of romantic riffs, heart-shaped lyrics and dancing drum beats. After a blistering success with their 2015 follow-up LP ‘Happy People’ (their debut ‘In Love’ came out to rapturous hype in 2013), the band disappeared for two years, winding up at a farmhouse in the middle of a forest miles away from civilisation. Now, they are back – as Peace 2.0; new label, new record and ready to reinvigorate their tribal young fanbase, one so loyal they’re known to sport Peace tattoos all over their bodies.
The band recently signed with Ignition Records, home to The Coral and Primal Scream, whilst re-signing publishing to the well-respected Communion stable. Back at the aforementioned farmhouse in the depths of Herefordshire (a National Trust property in the middle of nowhere), the foursome wrote and wrote. Having never spent so much as an hour in the countryside, singer Harry Koisser felt it was the most creative thing he’d ever done; “I was a total townie,” he says. “I spent six months out in an actual forest. It was very Hobbit-ish, very Hobbit-esque. Extremely isolating and scary”.
Over the past three years, Harry himself has been journeying on his very own independent transformative path; now sober, and turned to yoga and meditation. Alcohol and partying had taken its toll. Yoga became a habit six days a week. It completely revolutionised his creativity. Taking this with him into the recording studio after the farmhouse writing sessions Harry felt like he finally “had the keys to the Lamborghini.” Fleeing to Woodstock, USA, for a month in 2017 – a most unpractical but pleasingly gung-ho decision – the band went to work with Simone Felice (Bat For Lashes, The Lumineers), a brand new injection of blood. Having made their first two albums with Jim Abiss it was a new way of doing things, a less conventional way. Felice taught them how to use The Force…
“Simone doesn’t do any sounds. He gets into your soul. He’ll take you into a room and touch your heart, he’ll drive you down into the Catskill Mountains and say, ‘Smell the pines! Go and splash your face in the stream!’ Then he’ll take you back to the studio.” You can hear it not only in the lyrics but in Harry’s voice, which soars more powerfully than ever. “I never ever thought I could sing like that. Simone found that. He physically massaged it out of my chest with his hands.”
‘From Under Liquid Glass’ was the first taste of new material. Released at the tail end of 2017 in support of mental health charity MQ, it is Harry’s most vulnerable statement to date – a look into his own anxiety and mental health struggles. That topic is a big sea change for a band whose second record was non-ironically titled ‘Happy People’. “I’ve always avoided writing about that side of me. When you’re being a front man it’s easy to put on an act”.
With that said, ‘Power’ – the previous single which was released to overwhelmingly positive response [LISTEN HERE] – kicks off the record in typical Peace fashion. “Hey wake up and smell the lavender!” it begins, with the sprawl of full-blown guitars and fruity rhythms that will please any long-standing fan of the ‘Delicious‘ EP. It’s a Peace with expanded, clearer horizons.
With festivals to headline in the UK this year and a whole new universe to impact, the boys are well and truly back in town. “We want to be bigger and shinier than ever,” says Harry.
Tracklisting:
1. Power
2. Kindness Is The New Rock And Roll
3. Silverlined
4. You Don’t Walk Away From Love
5. From Under Liquid Glass
6. Magnificent
7. Angel
8. Shotgun Hallelujah
9. Just A Ride
10. Choose Love
