Love Life was
written in April 2011 when we were working as a full band. The main
instrumentation was done by Beca at home and then the vocals and
final mixing was done at Carl Chamberlain's studio in Bournemouth.
Carl is an accomplished recording engineer, songwriter and musician
and has his own band eden and also plays in several other bands.
The video was done by Beca using footage shot in the studio at the
time of recording and of a recent acoustic gig at Musicosity on
Bournemouth Beach hosted by Nacho Jase which was the first live
performance of the song.
Peachy Love
Life...review Stu Johnson (Weymouth)
This song is
one of their best yet. The brief intro (would have sounded even
better if it had gone for another couple of bars) sets the whole
rhythm and tone of the song. An acoustic guitar rhythm sound overlayed
with a neat electric guitar riff complements Vickys' vocals perfectly
for the first verse. The rhythm of the acoustic then cleverly builds
the bridge, ready for the chorus...
I'd sure like
to know what's going on in Becas' head at this point, because the
sound of her guitar becomes more apparent, and combined with what
she's actually playing here, it might be described as almost 'menacing'...?
that can't be right, can it...? or is it more 'mixed or frustrated
emotions'...?
The chorus then
comes in nicely, breaking the tension that has been built up.
This is really nice as Vicky pours her heart out, over Vicky’s
harmonies in the background. Vickys' voice is very different to
many singers. She doesn't 'go with the crowd'... her voice is quite
unique. At times there's a sort of emotional vunerability to her
voice/singing which i really like. On a purely personal note, I
would like to hear just a little more echo/reverb on her voice,
or perhaps some double/triple tracking to emphasis this aspect.
Getting back
to the song... Breaking the usual 'song format', there is then a
small bridge that brings the song into the next verse.
This is another aspect where Peachy Jane differ from a lot of bands,
Beca expresses her feelings, and gives the song a great 'feel' through
her guitar playing in a way that is a bit different to many guitarists.
You can't simply classify her as a rhythm player, oh no...her playing
is very much the 'heart' of the song, very emotive, in an almost
naive sort of way. (and I hope she'll forgive me for saying that,
it is meant as a compliment), because her expressive style is original
and certainly leaves its' mark.
The next verse
goes along nicely with some neat vocal (tricks)/phrases, and then
there's that bridge again...this time even stronger than before,
with the edition of a synth? playing some low end notes. Brooding
and pondering..?, (sorry Becs..) it hangs onto that last chord as
long as it can, almost to breaking point, and then the chorus kicks
in, trying to burst the banks of...? frustration...sadness... anger
and hurt...? expressing some of the emotional turmoil that is, the
'human condition'...
The final verse
ends with an observation...? no... a hard fact, of how precious
life is, and how vunerable, we as people, can be....
This is a great
song by Beca and Vicky, it's not 'slushy' or pretentious, but tells
things as they are.
