The Peep Tempel – Tales (2014)
The Peep Tempel are a three piece band from Melbourne and their second album ‘Tales’ is due out in a few weeks. I was fortunate enough to receive a copy early because a buddy of mine recorded it for them and I’ve been thrashing it in the car for the last few weeks despite the fact that it makes me feel yuck.
I’ll attempt to explain that last bit…
Reminiscent of an early Martin Amis novel (think ‘Money’ or ‘London Fields’) or one of the (two?) good Guy Ritchie films (think ‘Lock, Stock…’ or ‘Snatch’), this album is jam-packed with vile and repugnant characters who are either up to no good or are about to come to no good… and it’s impossible to look away.
‘Tales’ is dark and sleazy, seedy and threatening, and the characters are rendered so viscerally and vividly by vocalist Blake Scott (‘vocalist’ being the operative word) that it is really more than just a listening experience, it’s theatrical and evocative and quite mood-altering.
Scott’s ability to personify different characters from song to song using his voice(s) is really something to behold, the music pounds and lurches and jerks and staggers around creating a perfect backdrop for each story and the off-kilter guitar work is a great feature all the way through.
For once, one of the most overused terms in music writing is the most apt one – This is an ‘infectious’ album in the truest sense of the word…. It’s a bit yuck and I’m stuck with it for the foreseeable future.
Well played gentlemen. Well played.
PD