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Photo: Richard Gray
Standing in front of a giant neon peace sign, somewhere through a wave of screams, Harry Koisser asks London’s eager crowd how they’re doing - but his voice is hard to hear. Their second album, Happy People, may only have dropped today but the crowd sing most of its words back as if it’s been out forever.
With their long hair, adoring teenage fanbase and wonderfully vintage attire (Koisser’s bootcut pinstripe trousers are particular show-stealers), Peace ring back to a time when rock ‘n’ roll ruled the airwaves, yet this Brummy four-piece make feel good guitar pop for the social media age.
In bouncy new single ‘Money’, Peace welcome the audience to “a world where bitcoins pay for beatings, and diamonds pay for girls”. Another new song, inspired by Emma Watson’s gender equality speech, ‘I’m a Girl’, boasts a catchy sing-along chorus with a feminist message, but it’s their sugary sweet songs of young love that inspire the most enthusiastic sing-alongs.
A four song encore begins with the simple yet touching ballad ‘Someday’ which transitions into the infectious pop of ‘Lovesick’, turning the room into a moshing cacophony of beer-drenched mania from there on out.
A spectacular show highlight comes in the form of the epic trance-sampling '1998', which they stretch in a 15 minute screeching powerhouse of noise with accompanying green lasers, embedded into which is an instrumental cover of Led Zeppelin’s ‘Since I’ve Been Loving You’, proving their worth not only as entertainers but as musicians.
With an unreal earworm of second album under their belt and no signs of the strength of their live shows slowing down any time soon, Peace have proved any critics wrong tonight. They have the substance to match the style - let Peace reign.
