PEEL is a band from Sydney, Australia making interdimensional guitar music. Weaving fuzz and reverb with luminous synths and sequencers, atmospheric soundscapes, dazed vocals and propulsive rhythms, PEEL's sound is anchored in classic elements of shoegaze – that delicate balance of fragility and intensity – with psychedelic colourations and driving post-punk undertones.

 

There’s a sense of nostalgia that evokes illusions of 80s/90s UK indie, from The Jesus and Mary Chain to The Stone Roses, but with the luminescence of modern psychedelia. This mood is carried through to the band's photographs and videos, with a visual atmosphere that balances grainy textures and a dream-like surrealities, creating an ocular tension reminiscent of 90s aesthetics.

 

Following a five-year hiatus from writing and recording, the band was formed by Nick Stillman, Harry Tuckwell and Tom Kell. The three friends started piecing together what would become their debut release in mid-2019, with no purpose other than that it was time to start making music again.

 

Ideas flooded, gravitating towards a sonic architecture that is spacious, gritty and textural. At the start of 2020, the band headed into the studio to start turning demos into songs, something that seemed counterintuitive considering the moment in time, but necessary all the same. 

 

Working at Blankspace in Sydney with producer James Christowki, the band recorded in chunks, piecing together an expansive collection of tracks over a few months. The studio – an open-plan space loaded with noise-making tools – was conducive to experimentation and collaboration. Ideas and energy flowed fluidly, with members jumping between instruments, guests dropping in and out and the band exploring new sonic territory – a process that was at times chaotic but always building towards something provocative and alluring. 

 

Six months later, the band emerged with a five track EP through which Stillman’s vocals brim with nonchalant purpose, telling stories from space and earth, while Tuckwell’s guitar arsenal ventures from sophisticated riffs into utter chaos. These elements are barrelled forth by Kell’s relentless and formidable drumming, with doses of otherworldly synthesizers and grimey bass navigating subtle moments and dynamic movement floating. The trio are joined live by Steven Schouten from Misty Lanes on keys and Sam Vallellanes from Montes Jura on bass.

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“Not many bands burst onto the scene with such kinetic energy.”
— Backseat Mafia