Review: Peach Pit - ‘From 2 to 3’

Peach Pit

From 2 to 3

Vancouver quartet Peach Pit’s third album, the aptly titled ‘From 2 to 3’ is rife with a sense of suburban nostalgia. It’s a sublime record designed to dazzle in the summer sun. 

★★★★★

‘From 2 to 3’ opens with the psychedelic and sun-soaked guitar riffs of ‘Up Granville’, lead singer Neil Smith’s dulcet tones ride the sweet surf-pop sounds like a wave crashing gently against the beach sands. These mellifluous notes are a key theme throughout the record, it cannot be stated enough how the Vancouver quartet's third record feels destined to soundtrack the upcoming Summer months.

It is rare to find a cohesive album that can evoke memories and spark your senses with its sounds. ‘From 2 to 3’ evocatively paints vast mountain ranges and long American highways with each hazy blues-rock riff. The stories told within the songs are reminiscent of fellow Canadian indie rockers Arcade Fire, whose own legendary love letter to ‘The Suburbs’ feels like a key influence here.

Take ‘Vickie’ for instance, a joyous and wholesome dedication to a friend whose only wish for her birthday was a song of her own, which Peach Pit have duly obliged. The result is a foot-stomping tribute to those closest to us. Its homely tale of that friendly neighbour next door best summarises the feeling of comradery and companionship that is a frequent album motif.

There are some truly stellar moments throughout the record. The aforementioned opening tracks beautifully set the scene but it is the moments where the quartet experiments with progressive and evolving structures where the album truly shines. ‘Lips Like Yours’ features an ever-fluctuating guitar flow that the group use to build an intricate and emotional melody from, powered by Smith’s wistful lyricism and yearning chorus. It feels like a series of individual musical moments akin to a suite than a singular song. The quartet shows a remarkable talent for packing so much into a three-minute track. It is that ability to create a mini-odyssey with their tracks that give the admittedly concise and brisk eleven-track album a much richer and fuller feel.

‘Pepsi on the House’ sounds like it has been plucked from the early days of The Stereophonics, whist Vancouver could not be further from the Welsh Valleys, the track perfectly encapsulates that rock spirit, with its powerful distorted speaker blast of a chorus. ‘Look Out’ meanwhile, with its almost Folk-Esque chord progression feels like a comforting embrace. Finally, the album dazzles late on with the wonderful and stripped back ‘Last Days of Lonesome’, in which Smith’s words, dripping with melancholy, take centre stage.

Ultimately, ‘From 2 to 3’ feels destined to find itself on repeat over these coming spring and summer months, a nostalgic, sun-soaked masterpiece from the Canadian quartet.