Peace, The Vryll Society: The Kazimier, Liverpool

Peace

Having sold out two shows at the Kazimier ahead of releasing their second LP, Getintothis’ Adam Lowerson was there on both nights to witness the crowd get Lovesick for Peace.

It’s not usual that a band sell out two days in a row at the same venue. One Direction might do it, but for a relatively small band from out of town to come and pack out two shows is massively impressive, and pretty rare. In fact, this isn’t the only thing Peace and One Direction have in common, with the Kazimier being packed out with screaming teenagers on each night.

Having made their Liverpool debut at the Kazimier back in 2012, their other visits as a part of the NME Awards Tour and a stellar show at the Arts Club in 2013 has seen the band become one of the most popular acts in the city, certainly with the young crowd. Now coming back for the fourth time, and first in over a year, Peace brought a new song heavy set in support of their forthcoming album Happy People.

One criticism that has been directed the Worcester four-piece’s way in the past is that their sound borrows a lot from early 90s baggy, and the new songs on show over the two nights certainly reinforce that point. New singles Gen Strange couldn’t be baggier and Lost on Me is reminiscent of early Blur, however what they lack in originality they make up for with pure pop catchiness, and are met with as much enthusiasm and adoration as the older tracks.

One thing noticeable on both nights is just how much the young following love Peace, and every move they make is met with deafening screams from the crowd. Frontman Harry Koisser, who on both nights was sporting hooped earrings so big we can only assume are inspired by Eastenders’ Pat Butcher, is an unlikely heartthrob, and between every song is bombarded with girls asking for a hug or telling him they love him.

Although a lot of new material was on show, it’s the songs from the debut album In Love which are most impressive, with the sun tinged psych-pop Higher Than The Sun a real highlight, and the epic 1998 from the band’s Delicious EP prompting a lot of crowd surfing.

Mayhem eventually broke out during the encore with a wave of stage invaders and glitter bombs being thrown at the band while they performed the crowd favourite Lovesick and World Pleasure, a track which sounds as if it could be the love child of Blondie’s Rapture and the Stone Roses’ I Am The Resurrection.

Peace might still have their critics for the lack of originality, and the tracks from Happy People suggest that it isn’t going to change any time soon. However the band have a real talent at writing great songs and performing them to raucous crowds. Peace certainly aren’t reinventing the wheel. They’re just showing the wheel to a new audience who missed it the first time round, and on tonight’s showing, their fans are absolutely loving it.

Support on both nights came from The Vryll Society (Formerly Dirty Rivers and Serotonin), who performed two solid sets of groove laden post-punk, showing why Deltasonic are putting a lot of faith in to them. The stand out track on each night was Great White’s Fin, an epic voyage of jazz-tainted rhythm and Michael Ellis’ haunting vocals. Ellis is an arresting performer and his Ian Curtis like movements are impossible not to watch. Having relaunched themselves several times now with new names, the Vryll Society finally feel like a band with a real identity and direction.