October 1, 2024
GarageBand is often seen as an entry-level DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), but it has powerful tools that, when used effectively, can create professional-quality tracks. Many indie musicians and...
Read moreOctober 1, 2024
When working with MIDI in Ableton, one might notice that although MIDI clips can send program changes, most of Ableton's native plugins don’t seem to respond to these changes effectively. This can...
Read moreSeptember 21, 2024
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One of the most common challenges for songwriters is deciding whether to write the music or lyrics first. This can feel like a "chicken-or-egg" situation, but there's no one-size-fits-all answer...
Read moreSeptember 20, 2024
Releasing a new single or album is a huge milestone for any musician. However, without proper planning, your work may not get the attention it deserves. It’s not just about putting the song online...
Read moreSeptember 20, 2024
When it comes to music production, getting the low end right can be tricky. Many producers face a common issue: after the initial mix sounds perfect, a few days later, the low end starts to feel...
Read moreSeptember 19, 2024
For many aspiring musicians, the dream of creating a professional-quality home studio seems out of reach due to costs and space constraints. However, with the right strategies and tools, it's...
Read moreSeptember 18, 2024
Collaborating on music remotely has become more common, but as you’ve experienced, it can be a challenge to get it right. Audio latency, control sensitivity, and lack of real-time feedback are...
Read moreSeptember 18, 2024
In today’s digital age, building a loyal fanbase is essential for musicians to thrive. Social media platforms have become powerful tools for connecting directly with fans, sharing music, and...
Read moreSeptember 18, 2024
As a songwriter, it can be frustrating to have melodies or lyrics in your head but no way to bring them to life without instrumental skills. Thankfully, with modern technology, there are apps and...
Read moreSeptember 18, 2024
Creating music often feels like an intricate puzzle. You might have a melody that you love, but when it comes to pairing it with chords, you feel stuck. If you're in this situation, you're not alone.
Read moreSeptember 18, 2024
As an indie musician, creating professional music while sticking to a budget can be challenging. You might not have the resources to afford high-end software or pay for expensive marketing...
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Peach Pit’s third and latest album, “From 2 to 3”, is a perfect example of musicianship as it masterfully executes a combination of the band’s influences with their unique sound. It’s distinctly themselves, and built upon their 2 prior albums of infectious indie pop, filled with relatable lyrics and catchy melodies. Yet it takes on a more fundamental role in establishing their sound through more intimate and tactile recording practices, and this is exactly what the band set out to do before recording the album.
The album was heavily influenced by 1970s rock and folk music, as frontman Neil Smith tells Monday Magazine: “We just decided we wanted to have a very natural-sounding album with not a lot of affected vocals or guitars and if we were going to use effects, we were going to try to use things that were from the 1970s influence of rock ‘n roll.”
These influences are perfectly complementary to their previously established indie rock sound. Tracks such as ‘Up Granville’ and ‘Pepsi on the House’ have the energetic aura and riffing guitars which defined their previous albums. Yet the album is especially elevated by tracks such as ‘Vickie’, ‘Look Out!’, and ‘Last Days of Lonesome’, which feature acoustic guitar-driven instrumentals and mellow vocals. The latter two tracks even feature little to no drums or bass guitar, opting to put their lyrics and melodies at the forefront which amplifies the folk-influenced atmosphere.
One thing that listeners will pick up on is how noticeably intimate the listening experience is. Not only through tender instrumentals, but with the more subtle conveyance of mature lyrical themes. No song exemplifies this better than the title track, which sees the lead singer, Neil wake up from a dream about his ex-girlfriend. It’s a mellow track with haunting undertones, and serves as a perfect way to cap off the album. What makes the lyrical content so infectious is not only the relatability, but how it feels tactile, dynamic, and right in front of you. These elements are nurtured by Neil’s songwriting habits, as he cites in an interview with Range that he wrote ‘From 2 to 3’ right after actually waking up from his dream, which explains why the imagery it portrays is so fresh and vivid.
“From 2 to 3” feels both like a product of skilled musicians, and a bunch of friends jamming together in a tightly organized package. While the album is more bare-bones than their previous efforts– omitting many background sounds that made “You and Your Friends” a progressive album for the genre, it allows them to experiment with sounds and lyrical themes that were previously untapped. And for that, Peach Pit is able to capture the charming essence of indie music while maturing their sound to a more creative and polished state which reflects their growth and talent as musicians.