Combining a psychedelic aural wanderlust with lo-fi pop and a dash of garage punk grit, the
Peacers were formed by
Mike Donovan after the breakup of his influential garage band
the Sic Alps. Armed with a fondness for catchy melodies and scuzzy guitars,
Peacers make use of both in the studio, with music that can be sweet and engaging in spite of the gritty surfaces of their performances.
Peacers conjured a fractured yet pleasing sound on their easygoing self-titled debut, while 2021's Blexxed Rec was tighter and more energetic while still reflecting their chaotic personality.
When
the Sic Alps disbanded in 2013,
Donovan initially pursued solo projects with guitarist Eric Park before deciding it was time to launch a new band. The initial lineup of
the Peacers included Wendy Farina on drums and
Ty Segall as producer and multi-instrumentalist, but as the personal relationship between
Donovan and Farina splintered, former
Oh Sees drummer Mike Shoun became the band's new percussionist. (As
Donovan said in an interview, "[Farina] wanted to take time to concentrate on not being my girlfriend.")
Donovan, Shoun, and
Segall went into the studio to cut
the Peacers' self-titled debut album, which was released by
Drag City Records in July 2015. The band set out on a joint tour with
Elisa Ambrogio and played frequently in the San Francisco Bay Area, but in 2016
Segall dropped out of
the Peacers' lineup. Undaunted,
Donovan reshaped the group into a quartet with the addition of
Shayde Sartin and Bo Moore, and in June 2017
the Peacers returned with their second album,
Introducing the Crimsmen, which was also released by
Drag City. The same lineup of the group was back for the recording of 2021's Blexxed Rec, a more energetic and emphatic set of songs that pushed forward their tunefulness without cancelling out the noisy textures. ~ Mark Deming