With five years having passed since the release of their previous album Tomorrow (2014), Norwegian indie rock band Beezewax have certainly had time to fine tune their sound for new release Peace Jazz. The eight track record, released via Sellout Music, is their seventh studio album and is a reflective and multilayered snapshot into the band’s own experiences of life on the road. The album flows effortlessly and is an example of how to mix easy listening indie with many more experimental themes and genres, evidently influenced by many different bands and decades.
The album opens with chilled out track Everything Happened, in which the band evoke emotions of adventure and memories of summers past. Think Two Door Cinema Club meets Dinosaur Jr and this is the sound Beezewax are channeling in their album opener, fun indie with a mature and chilled out vibe. Fuzzy guitars take centre stage in Rainbows and it is clear that the five piece are using this album to experiment with a new raw and chaotic energy. Beezewax explain how Peace Jazz is heavily influenced by the relentless touring the band underwent after the release of their previous album. “What we found was that people really liked-and have always liked-how our songs sound live: louder, and with a different energy,” explains lead singer and guitarist Kenneth Ishak. This feeling of looseness continues throughout and reflects the carefree nature of the lyrics, which are a real highlight of the album.
Third track Closer is definitely the standout track. Previously released as a single in 2018, the track features Jon Auer of The Posies and Sophia Pettit of Night Flowers, who both contribute to the beautiful harmonies that flow like honey over the crashing drums and jangly guitars. This is a song that could have come straight out of the nineties, think Teenage Fanclub meets the more modern Pity Sex. Things slow down a bit in The Conduit, but most of the album maintains the same upbeat tune and carefree attitude associated with summer and its adventures. Final track, and giving its name to the album is Peace Jazz, a seven minute wonder that features The Jesus and Mary Chain style drums and heavily contemplative lyrics that seem to mirror earlier themes within the album. “So when that day became an ocean / and that year became your life/ falling in and out of conversations/ whose gonna hold you back,” ponders Ishak. The album ends with building and psychedelic guitars that strongly contrast with the lighthearted nature of the start of the album. On Peace Jazz, Ishak says “We’re not trying to impress anyone or be technical- we just want to make something that means a lot to us,” but there is no doubt that this is an impressive album, that should resonate with a lot of people.
Beezewax release Peace Love on Sellout! Music on May 3rd 2019. They support The Futureheads at Concorde 2 in Brighton on 30th May 2019.
8/10
Standout Tracks: Closer, Rainbows, Tall Island
For Fans Of: Dinosaur Jr, Teenage Fanclub, Hooton Tennis Club
Written by: Maisie Kazen
