Peach Pit Shine On Understated New Track ‘Look Out!’

On their new single ‘Look Out!’, you get the impression that you’re interrupting Peach Pit (featuring frontman Neil Smith, guitarist Christopher Vanderkooy, bassist Peter Wilton and drummer Mikey Pascuzzi) in a moment of quiet catharsis, almost one not intended for public consumption.  

Its somewhat raw production is one of its most distinctive elements; it’s unpolished, low-key, minimalist, but in many ways this makes it more personal.

The listener is left alone with a voice and a guitar, and ‘Look Out!’ uses them to superb effect to convey the message within the lyrics, before the instrumentation slowly builds. Even as acoustic and electric guitars are joined by harmonica flourishes toward the end, the track is still light and easygoing. Percussion is conspicuous in its relative absence, besides some subtle brushes in the background. Easing the listener into the song in this way is important as it allows us to immerse ourselves that little bit more easily, and connect with what Smith is singing about.

On the first listen, the lyrics of ‘Look Out!’ may appear to be as whimsical as the tone in which they’re delivered, but this is not necessarily the case. While the words do take a more surreal turn in places (“If it’s hard to catch you hanging round my little shoe box, fine”), there is clear evidence of heartache, and the narrator’s longing for acknowledgement from their lost love (“Would you like me to go along my way/without me even saying hello?”) This does not detract from the song’s overall charm, however – less is sometimes more, and ‘Look Out!’ is another track that proves that from the off. Sometimes these simple, meandering vocal melodies are all you need to come back to a song again and again. It might not be planted firmly in the mind, but it’s there, niggling away and piquing curiosity – and with this, Peach Pit have produced something with that undeniable, irresistible quality.

 

Mason Hawker

@HawkerMason

Image: Peach Pit, ‘Look Out!’ Official Single Cover (PRESS)