Many years ago I read an essay about how the difficult-to-decipher vocals of Joe Strummer was part of The Clash’s legacy -- how making the listener not key in just on the words, but the melody and movement instead makes it more effective and more open to interpretation in a good way. That concept stuck with me. A song is the sum of its parts and, let’s be honest, we all sing along and get the words wrong sometimes-- Oh, and I'm going somewhere with this…
I’m going to broadly say that The Peawees are rock ‘n’ roll in the most classic sense. Think 1950s-‘60s rock meets The Clash meets California cool. It’s leather jacket rock ‘n’ roll, but in beachwear. I guess that makes sense. They’re from Italy, which is surrounded by water. The press release also calls it “soul-inspired garage rock,” which is way more concise that I was here.
While listening to One Ride I’ve thought about standup bass, especially in “The Wolf” or “Spell on Me,” but also sock hops and just that classic and undefinable coolness factor. Once the record hits song “Spell on Me,” the semi-hoarse vocals reminded me of Vic Ruggiero (The Slackers) and while there is no rocksteady here, I see some other classic ‘tude-type elements that are really hard to put on paper. And once I picked up that cue, it stuck and I hear it everywhere, especially the latter half. The tropes may be familiar but the authenticity is undeniable.
Now let’s go back to the intro. I’ve set this record up as sounding classic, i.e. familiar. You’ve heard these structures and progressions, and even the themes before. It’s not new but you get the feeling you can instantly groove along. Then they throw you off, right at the start in “Banana Tree,” with lyrics of “The way you talk/ you make me feel rude/ The way you want me/ I’m acting like a dude -- nope, wait -- he said “duke.” In “Lost in the Middle,” I keep expecting a lyric of “How it feels, baby,” only to get a “lately” instead. There are a bunch of those lyrics in the 11 songs here. They string you along, then pull out the rug. It’s fun, upbeat and positively chill music but it’s also not quite so instantly familiar after all.
If you like melodic, timeless rock ‘n’ roll, grab your leather jacket, your motorcycle helmet or your surfboard or your scally cap. There are whoa-ohs, clap-alongs, rumbling highway tones, horn and piano parts, and even a two-stepper. One Ride will hit the right spots.
