One of the most enjoyable slices of Los Angeles pop-psych this side of Michael Quercio's Jupiter Affect and the revivified
Arthur Lee-plus-
Baby Lemonade lineup of
Love, the debut album by
Peachfuzz is janglefuzzy power pop with all of the genre's best attributes -- deliciously whiny high-register vocals with sweet and sour harmonies that threaten to veer offkey but never quite do, an entire Guitar Center's worth of effects pedals, an appealingly retro worldview -- and none of its all-too-common pitfalls: dull songwriting, flat productions, unimaginative arrangements that make the songs sound even more alike than they really are, and a desire to strain out any audible musical influences that postdate the first
Raspberries album. The results aren't world-shattering by any stretch of the imagination, but songs like the soaring "So Why Not Now" and the gloriously straight "Save Us Tammy Faye" are incredibly endearing. For those who always wished
the Green Pajamas rocked just a little harder. ~ Stewart Mason