PEABODY - ‘PROSPERO’ (Nonzero/Shock)
FasterLouder.com
It almost doesn’t seem quite right that this is only Peabody’sthird full-length album. The band have been going for more than adecade and are seemingly quite solid stalwarts on Sydney’s stages. Yetsince their 2002 debut, have only managed an album roughly every threeyears. Prospero is certainly well worth the wait though.
Peabody – not surprisingly for a mid-nineties Australian band –started out as a guitar-bass-drum three piece. The next incarnation ofthe band saw not only a new recruit in the drumming stool – Jared
Harrison of Bluebottle Kiss fame – but also the addition of a second guitarist; Tristian Courtney-Prior.
From seeing them play live around the traps over the past couple ofyears, it is fair to say Peabody took a while to settle into their newfour-piece incarnation. The ten tracks assembled on Prospero prove itwas time well spent. Peabody could always be relied upon for somepunchy, parochial pub rock, of which the first single off the album,Devil For Sympathy, is a sterling example of. However, the additionalguitar and new influences have given them a denser and deeper soundthan the early days.
While as a three-piece, Peabody’s songs came full throttle as thoughthey were in a hurry to be somewhere, but the new line up allows a bitmore space and breathing room for the music. Prospero, althoughrecorded in a brisk and beery five days in mid-2007, seems much morethought out and carefully assembled than Peabody’s previous exploits.The touch and guidance of producer Jamie Hutchings ofBluebottle Kiss – known for the odd brooding, sprawling epic themselves– has helped for some more expansive musical ideas to be bought to thetable.
There are lashings of harmonies, tambourines and hand-claps used fortrimmings but the big difference is that the songs themselves arepropelled by more slow-burning riffs and built up layers of noise,rather than instruments just allowed to let rip. You could even accusealbum closer – the six-and a half minute Sweet Oblivion -of being epic.
In addition to the increased musical maturity you get an emotionalinsight and lament in the lyrical mix. For both the band and theirlisteners seeing in the sunrise at the Townie may not always seem asappealing as it once did in the face of the reality, responsibilitiesand proper adult relationships.
Don’t fret though; those of the young male, excessive alcoholfavouring persuasion are well catered for with the melodic-throttlingblasts of Buzzard Vs Ibis and The Only Way I Know.Prospero is a confident and assured step forward for Peabody in thatthere is an awful lot more musical and lyrical depth to really listento, not just sing-along to. It’s still cheeky, but also well consideredand raucous without being too raw. It could well be the first step onthe path to very Prospero-us times ahead for Peabody.
November 2008
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PEABODY - ‘PROSPERO’ (Nonzero/Shock)
RAVE MAGAZINE (Brisbane)
Sydneysiders amp up the drama
Last album The New Violence showed how Peabody could blend Annandale anthems with more brooding compositions. New record Prosperodoes similar, but cranks up the group’s flair for the dramatic,resulting in a number of tunes that reach darkly melodic heights. Egon opens the album in a clang of moody guitars, while Big Sur is propelled with growling bass and pounding rhythm. Then things get real bonkers in the stomping Middle Eastern maelstrom of Buzzard Vs Ibis– it almost sounds like the group has been studying The Cure’sPornography, in this record’s use of darkly psychedelic guitars andwailing melodies. It’s upon hearing these tunes that you realise singerBruno Brayovic’s vocal resemblance to The Psychedelic Furs’ RichardButler. Something To Someone shows that Peabody haven’tabandoned their ear for radio-friendly material, but it is the tougher,darker and more intense mood at the heart of Prospero thatillustrates this Sydney four-piece’s considerable progress. BluebottleKiss’ Jamie Hutchings (himself no stranger to intense rock and roll)provides a sympathetic production, allowing plenty of room for denselylayered guitars and a grinding rhythm section to both sound prominentwithout drowning each other out. Another effortlessly satisfyingaddition to the Peabody catalogue.
Matt Thrower
November 2008
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PEABODY - ‘PROSPERO’ (Nonzero/Shock)
DRUM MEDIA (Sydney)
This is the third studio album from Sydney band Peabody and it is something to be celebrated. Prospero takes the listener on a lyrical journey through the ins and outs of songwriter Ben Chamie’s own life and emotions, via various stories of love, oblivion, self discovery and drama. All manor of people are referenced in each song, from Kerouac to Kurt Vonnegut, Egon Schiele to the Rolling Stones, in order to make a self-removed reference point that covers each issue.
Prospero still delivers that rich shoegazing serenade and the signature discordant guitar droning (a vital ingredient to any Peabody release), only this recognisable sound shines a light on Peabody at the end of a meticulously well thought out, matured and rehearsed road that has led them to higher ground.
The opening track Egon takes a look at the life and times of Austrian 20th Century artist Egon Schiele and the dramatic relationship of lust and passion between himself and his models. The guitar hooks are left lingering and uncertain, much like the actions of Egon towards these poor girls. The haunting discordant guitar sound in Big Sur sets a fitting mood for the themes explored within, as it covers, via Kerouac, the issue of self improvement but as different pressures filter through, we’re often left right back where we started.
These are just a couple of examples of the brilliance of music and lyrics that create Prospero. As a body of work, it ties together beautifully and is definitely to be admired.
Mitzi McKenzie-King
November 2008
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PEABODY - ‘PROSPERO’ (Nonzero/Shock)
TIME OFF MAGAZINE (Brisbane)
ALBUM OF THE WEEK
There’s a certain abstract delight to be taken from Sydney indie-rockers Peabody’s decision to name their third album Prospero.The juxtaposition of the band’s bluntly simple-minded name and thevaguely intellectual/cultural affiliations of their album title (which,while meaning ‘riches, good fortune’ in Latin, also plays a pivotalrole as a character in Shakespeare’s The Tempest) is not without itsown perverse, post-modern appeal. The juxtaposition, however, also cutsto the heart of the album’s musical appeal.
A richly rewarding listen, Prospero’s charms are perfectly positioned at the complex intersection of primal abrasion and intelligent emotional expression. The presence of a Kurt Vonnegut-inspired number (‘If The Accident Will’) seems not only fitting, but necessary, with the band touching on the legendary author’s characteristic mix of pathos and wit throughout the album. The breezy refrains of opener ‘Egon’ veil an achingly poetic reflection on fractured personal relationships, while the rumbling sturm und drang and listless lyrics of ‘Big Sur’ conceal an imminently and irresistibly catchy rock song.
The band unfortunately don’t always maintain the album’s tense dynamic of light and shade. The caustic textures of ‘Buzzard Vs. Ibis’occasionally swallow the band’s melodic nous and ‘Devil For Sympathy’sounds a little limp in comparison to the album’s more violent numbers, but such missteps are minor gripes on an album with a surfeit of stirring and emotional moments. The perversity of music-lovers is such that, were such clear-cut numbers absent, complaints would come all the louder for this impressive band and their wonderful third album.
* * * * Matt O’Neill
November 2008