UK indie-darlings, Peace, made a triumphant return to The Zoo on Wednesday (6 May).
Back in their home country, Peace are the denim-clad, wide-eyed, curtain-haired ‘saviours of indie’. They sell-out tours. They rock Glastonbury. Teens tweet them daily fan-art.
Perhaps news takes a while to travel, because in Australia – particularly in Brisbane on a Wednesday night – it felt like Peace had taken a time machine back to their early days, slogging it out in intimate bars.
Click here for photos from the show.
In this crowd, you wouldn’t find rabid fans with peace signs emblazoned on their leather jackets, à la dandy frontman Harry Koisser. These were people who heard about the quartet – maybe from a friend of a friend – and braved a quiet night out for the sake of good music. In this case, anthemic tunes on lust and angst, anchored by swirling, psychedelic melodies.
Image © Caitlin LowPeace opened, sans intro, with their groove-laden single, 'Money'. This is where their new record, 'Happy People', ventures closest into slick-pop territory – but when played live, it had just as much substance as it did style.
'Follow Baby' steered the vibe into baggy grunge before dreamy, fan favourite 'California Daze' tightened the reigns. The partially inebriated audience bellowed the lyrics over Harry’s sugary rasp – “she tastes like sunlight, and she’s always gonna be there in the back of your mind” – while others were soundlessly overcome with emotion.
It was in 2013’s pistol-paced 'Wraith' where virtuoso guitarist Doug Castle demonstrated his undeniable brilliance, with punters on his side of the stage starting to ferociously surge. It’s a strange phenomenon what Doug’s presence can do to the otherwise non-aggressive masses. Adding to the clamor was the gender-bending 'I’m A Girl', a raucous anthem for men who aren’t really.
Image © Caitlin LowUnlike the last time they graced The Zoo, Peace readily obliged the audience with a satisfying encore. Their Binary Finary cover of '1998' was a reverb-heavy testament to the band’s musicianship and versatility.
Perhaps the most unexpected highlight was in their closing number, 'World Pleasure' – with audience members murmuring in anticipation of Sam Koisser’s killer-bass solo.
Maybe the crowd didn’t start as ardent fans, but something changed once Harry and Co. swaggered offstage. Therein lies Peace’s appeal – the ability to project all that lovesick buoyancy and turn even the most uninitiated of audiences into living, heart-eyed emojis.
Written by Caitlin Lowe
Click here for photos from the show.
