The Peacocks
““Angel””
(Asian Man Records)
The Peacocks seem to pull their style from the cream of every decade since the Great Depression. The general drive is definitely punk and rockabilly, but the smooth standup bass and sparkling hollow body guitar tones call back to an older sound. Classic wide-open 50’s melodies and driving rhythms… I’m definitely reminded of The Red Elvises, although these guys ain’’t commies. They’re from Switzerland, so they may be communist sympathizers – I wouldn’t trust them with my virgin daughters. They use a tad less gimmickry than the Elvises, leaning toward simpler, raw song structure and dry, humble lyrics. Guitarist-singer Hasu Langhart’’s voice gives a nod to Joey Ramone, god rest/damn his soul. Bassist Simon Langhard (no relation) keeps it simple over Tony Hilber’’s smooth shuffling beats. I’m stuck on Track 4, “It’s Not Me.” Hasu rambles in broken English over a chugging riff and double-time drums with a wailing wasteland surf bridge. This one could easily evoke moshing and dancing at the same time. Shit, that holds true for nearly every song. This isn’’t a catchy album, not in the traditional sense. All-American music made in Switzerland. Whatever. It just sounds fucking good.
