I’m a sucker for a great pop song. Growing up with parents that spun Beatles records all the time and hearing AM radio in the backseat as a little kid had an affect on me. Having songs from the Raspberries, Leo Sayer, the Bee Gees, Andrew Gold, and the Steve Miller Band played in a constant rotation while driving around town instilled a love of a great pop hook. It’s a certain kind of pop, though. The kind that makes you bop your head to the beat, has lots of shimmering vocal harmonies, and lots of jangly guitar. It has a sunshine disposition with an overcast melancholy. A happy song that makes you happy while making you a little sad, too. Artists like Dent May, Tilbury, Beach House, Best Coast, Camera Obscura, and Alvvays do it right.
Another band that does melancholy pop right is British Columbia’s Peach Pyramid.
Peach Pyramid is Jen Severtson, Adrian Heim and Rowan Mackenzie. These three have locked in together and create these amazing pop songs that sound absolutely timeless. All of them bring something special to the band, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the sweet and melancholy vocals of lead singer Jen Severtson. Severtson has one of those voices that instantly grabs your head and heart. You lock into her dreamy harmonies and self-assured melodies. There’s both a vulnerability and confidence displayed in her voice that interplays beautifully with Heim and Mackenzie. Peach Pyramid have that “thing”.
The band have recently dropped a single that will be on their new EP Bright Blue due September 20th on Oscar St. Records. The song is called “Wear Sunscreen” and it’s the perfect end of summer driving song. The kind of happy/sad pop melodies and indie rock sway that earns the song entrance to every great mixtape worth its weight in maudlin moods and introspective afternoon highs. The track and EP are co-produced and feature keys by Kathryn Calder of The New Pornographers, and with that carries a self-assured vibe. If “Wear Sunscreen” is any indication, Bright Blue will be pleasing to the ears and the soul.
Bright Blue drops September 20th on Oscar St. Records. Check out “Wear Sunscreen” below.
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