Peach Pit have found their groove. Since making a big splash with the wry, wobbly indie pop of their debut, 2017's Being So Normal, the Vancouver group have reliably plugged away, releasing an album every two years and quickly establishing themselves as one of Canada's preeminent rock bands carrying straight-up guitar music into the next generation.
Their consistency continues with their fourth album, Magpie, out today through Columbia Records. The album is bright and blubbly, eclectically going from acoustic balladry to stomping pop rock while still maintaining the slacker cool that was their original appeal.
To mark the release of Magpie, the band's members ranked their five favourite songs from their catalogue — including the song that broke them out of their sophomore slump, the one that feels like a comforting old friend, and the song that brings singer-guitarist Neil Smith back to the band's early days.
Read past editions of Exclaim!'s High 5 column here.
5. Shampoo Bottles"
You and Your Friends (2020)
Christopher Vanderkooy: This track came around when we were in the midst of finishing up our second record. The sophomore slump was hitting us hard, and we were questioning ourselves a lot. Not with this song, though. As soon as we had the rough structure, we knew it was special. Lyrically, this tune is air-tight. It's the most relatable tune we've got, and works as the perfect show-closer most nights.
4. "Everything About You"
From 2 to 3 (2022)
Christopher Vanderkooy: This song on our record From 2 to 3 came together in a single day. The take we kept was the third time we had ever played it together. We could hear ourselves discovering the song in the way we were playing, and it felt like lightning in a bottle. The last part of that song hits especially hard for me; it feels like the comfort of an old friend, and is one of the most timeless melodies in our repertoire.
3. "Wax & Wane"
Magpie (2024)
Mikey Pascuzzi: Here's a from our new record, Magpie. This one evolved from a simple fingerpicked chord progression and turned into a full-band number that crescendos with a really cool back-and-forth melody between the lead guitar and violin. I'm putting this one in our Top 5 because the lyrics, melody and instrumentation play really well off of each other. It's a super dreamy tune.
2. "Did You Love Somebody"
Magpie (2024)
Peter Wilton: This is one of my all-time favourite songs that Neil has ever written. The emotional synchronicity between music and lyrics is so beautiful, and it really hits hard for me. I know that this is a song we will always be able to look back to and be really proud of. It really is a timeless song to me in every way.
1. "Tommy's Party"
Being So Normal (2017)
Neil Smith: This is my all-time favourite Peach Pit song. It really has never lost its potency for me, and I always look forward to playing it. For me, the lyrics are still as meaningful as ever, and I'm still proud of what I wrote all these years later. "Tommy's Party" also represents a time in our lives when we were just starting out as a band; everything about playing together was new and exciting, and I like how playing the song always brings me back to that time.