"Clouds" by Peal
Peal
Peal formed in 2019 and they released their debut single “Fever” later that year. The singles “Flowers” and “Like A Dream” later followed, along with a growing reputation of being one of the most exciting bands to come out of Dundee in recent years.
Peal are made up of
Dan Brown (vocals and guitar),
Neil Morrison (keys and vocals),
Kenneth Scott (guitar),
George MacKenzie (bass) and
Andy Ptolomey (drums).
Both Morrison and MacKenzie are also members of the psychedelic rock ‘n’ roll group Midnight Alleys as the frontman and the bass player respectively. Peal is a captivating live band and have played several sold-out support slots, notably with Shambolics, Miracle Glass Company and Parliamo.
Clouds
Heute geht's nach Schottland, genauer gesagt nach Dundee. Dort zu Hause ist bzw. sind Peal, eine mehr-köpfige Band die sich dem melodischen Indie Dream Rock und deren Variationen verschrieben hat.
Ihr neuestes Werk nennt sich "Clouds" und beobachtet auf der einen Seite die Hoffnungen und Träume sowie auf der andere die Angst die mit einhergeht, wenn man seine Ziele erreichen will. Die Betrachtung der Psyche in einer modernen Welt, wo Tagträume und Realitätsverlust zur Erfahrung und Wirklichkeit werden. Lyrisch anspruchsvoll, setzen sie die Thematik exzellent in ihrem bereits bekannten Stil um.
Musikalischer Hauptdarsteller natürlich die Stimme, der Gesang von Dan, der bereits auf einen hohen Wiedererkennungswert zurückgreifen kann und durch die perfekte Instrumentierung, hier vor allem das gelungene Arrangement das niemanden abfallen lässt und sehr variantenreich ausgeführt ist, in den Mittelpunkt rückt.
Dieses brillante Zusammenspiel, wo ein "Rad" ins andere greift und von den Vocals geleitet wird, erzeugt diesen zeitlosen "Peal-Sound" der hier im neuen Release zur Perfektion gereift ist. Ich muss sagen, ich bin richtig froh diese Band entdeckt zu haben. "Clouds" by Peal oder eine Band die uns in Zukunft noch sehr viel Freude bereiten wird!
Q&A
Peal are...?
Peal was formed by our frontman Dan by picking up members of other Dundee based outfits such as Midnight Alleys and Milhouse Collective.
Who inspired you to make music in general?
We have a variety of musical inspirations, some of the main ones that initially inspired us to play music were Nirvana, Bob Dylan, Blink 182 and the Wytches.
Your latest track "Clouds" sounds brilliant, what or who was your inspiration?
Lyrically Clouds is inspired by experiences of coping with mental health in the modern world, working "normal jobs" full time, disassociation from reality and daydreaming. The melodies were inspired by the chord progressions created by our very own Kenneth Scott.
If you compare your first release to the new track, are there some significant differences in the songwriting or the recording process?
Our first release Fever was recorded entirely by Dan the frontman with Liam James of Milhouse Collective. Dan wrote Fever in 2015 and didn't record it until spring 2019.
The drums featured in Fever are also automated midi drums as it was recorded before Andy our current drummer joined the band.
Kenneth our lead guitarist wrote the music for Clouds and Dan helped structure the song as well as writing the lyrics for it. So it was very much a collaborative effort as opposed to Fever.
You are a six piece band, how was/is it to be creative during the pandemic?
The pandemic forced us to delve into the digital world more so to aid our plight in creating new music. To a degree we became better at individually making and structuring songs, as well as developing our skills of collaboration in a different way.
Most of us have pretty busy work schedules now so this has become our go to method of conjuring up ideas, since we can't write together majority of the time.
What's your most useful talent besides music?
George knows his way around a wagyu beef recipe he calls the beef blaster. Also Neil can put on a penny-wise costume makeup included in 0.2 seconds, don't know how useful that is but there you go
What do you prefer, a live gig or a studio session?
Live gig 100% - best part of being in a band
You are from Dundee, how would you describe the music scene there?
There seems to be a really great mix of bands coming from Dundee in recent years, it feels like there's a much wider spectrum and variety of sounds than ever before.
Some of our favourites include Milhouse Collective, Plasmas, Gossiper, Echo Machine, the Medinas, Corde Du Roi. Another noteworthy artist is rapper MC Salum who's also been making some waves recently.
Do you remember your first ever self-written song?
Dan - First song I ever wrote was probably an absolute angst anthem or a wolf mother rip off of some sort
What’s next for you?
What's next is we're hoping to release as much music as possible this year after nearly 2 years and no new releases. We can't wait to play our brand new material for any fans desperate to hear.
It's difficult balancing working full time and being in a DIY band, but we appreciate anyone who takes the time to support us in any way.
Whether it's buying merch, listening to the music or coming to our gigs, it's all met with the sincerest of gratitude on our side.