As a follow up to their sophomore album, You and Your Friends, Vancouver indie rock band Peach Pit has released three new tracks. The new songs include “Psychics in LA,” “Adidas,” and “Denny’s Garage.” This trio of tunes is the band’s latest release since You and Your Friends dropped in April of this year. They appear on the deluxe version of the album, which was released Friday, Oct. 2.
Of the three tracks, “Psychics in LA” has been much anticipated by fans, as the band has performed live it on several occasions, dating as far back as Toronto’s CBC music festival in May of 2019. Though upon first listen “Psychics in LA” seems like a fun indie-rock tune, a closer look at the lyrics reveals that is an odd tale of a psychic reading for an allegedly suicidal cat.
At the CBC music festival, lead singer Neil Smith explained that the song was about a trip to Los Angeles he took with a friend. On the trip, they took his friend’s cat to a psychic to receive a reading. This song features lead guitarist Chris Vanderkooy’s talents with its upbeat guitar riffs and, of course, an epic guitar solo that is balanced with Smith’s smooth vocals and somewhat odd lyrics. Another notable aspect of the tune is the strong tempo contrast between the slower verses and the much-accelerated chorus.
The next new track, “Adidas,” is much more mellow than “Psychics in LA.” In this moody melody, lead singer and songwriter Smith laments an awkward experience running into an ex after a rough breakup.
He sings, “If I could I’d just keep on looking down / And leave my eyes at your Adidas.”
The verses of this track are driven by a strong bass and sprinkled with Peach Pit’s characteristic guitar licks, while the chorus switches to a softer pizzicato guitar chord progression, giving this song a more emotional sound and pairing well with the melancholy lyrics.
The last new track, “Denny’s Garage,” is another example of Peach Pit’s affinity for naming songs after people (such as “Tommy’s Party” on the album Being So Normal and “Brian’s Movie” off of You and Your Friends). This song falls somewhere between the upbeat “Psychics in LA” and the wistful “Adidas,” with its quick tempo, but sad sounding minor chords. Overall, this song has a much grittier sound than its counterparts. Smith wrote the song about his uncle who passed away. This is most apparent through the juxtaposition of a strong guitar lead and upbeat drum line with soft and mournful vocals and lyrics. Overall the song renders deep emotions in the rawest way.
These three new tunes perfectly compliment You and Your Friends as a whole, which is essentially a collection of stories about the band and their friends over the years. Fans are definitely thrilled to have new music so soon after the original release of Peach Pit’s second album, and excited to see what this up-and-coming band will do next.