WELCOME TO PEEPWORLD – CHARM OFFENSIVE
(Big Red Sky)
The cover of this EP features a photo of
Welcome To Peepworld that’s clearly intended to echo Grant Wood’s painting
“American Gothic” (whereas Bert Audubade’s resemblance to a member of
Grinderman is probably coincidental). It tells you a lot about a duo that has a
traditional craftsman’s touch, and an eye on the darker, sterner side of their craft. It’s definitely the latter
part of the equation that we enjoy, and a couple of tracks here, “All you Need”
and “Fool”, are immaculately performed, and wispy sweet, but a little
generic. Things are definitely improved
when the mood turns blacker and when Fi McFall pushes her voice beyond its
natural warmth into more ravaged tones.
On “Help Me” or the title track she rises to a yearning corncrake screel
that teeters on the far edge of melodicism, and the effect is captivating. At its best, this record reminds us of
Kristin Hersh’s early 90s material, simple guitar strumming overlaid by
wild-eyed drama and elegantly swelling strings (courtesy of the wonderful
Barney Morse-Brown); if it can’t always keep up the emotional intensity, it at
least never stumbles into open mike self-pity, and it does boast the best piece
of singalong a capella break-up vitriol you’ll hear this year. Charm
offensive? Stick to the bitterness,
Peepworld, it’s far more interesting.
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