A Review of Peach Pit’s Album, ‘Magpie’

Peach Pit members Neil Smith, Chris Vanderkooy, Peter Wilton, and Mikey Pascuzzi are promoting their latest album, “Magpie.” | Northern Transmissions

Vancouver-based band Peach Pit was formed in 2016. Their genre is indie pop/rock, or as they call it, “chewed bubblegum pop.” Their previous albums include “Sweet FA,” “Being So Normal,” “You and Your Friends,” and “From 2 to 3,” which contributed hits like “Shampoo Bottles” and “Give Up Baby Go.”

Now, they’re on their fifth music release: their new album, “Magpie.”

“Magpie” has a similar sound to the band’s earlier music. The songs are catchy, and for the most part, uplifting feeling. Some songs stand out, however, as reviewed later on in the article. Overall, even though it seems like an extension of all their previous music and doesn’t really have a “new” sound, “Magpie” adds several new, solid songs to Peach Pit’s repertoire.

Here are reviews of the songs on “Magpie”:

“Every Little Thing”:
This track is a great way to start the album, as it is upbeat and very catchy. Its guitar has an almost ethereal sound and the overall feel-good vibes that sound like Peach Pit. The lyrics are simple but emotional, and overall sets a warm feeling for the rest of the album. It’s easily a favorite.

“Yasmina”:
This song is a classic ballad-type song, but starts off a little repetitive and is kind of boring due to the pacing. However, later in the song, the guitar kicks in and brings the song back up to beat. The lyrics are simple but honest. It’s not the most exciting track, but does fit well with the album.

“Am I Your Girl”:
This song starts out with a riff very similar to that of “Every Little Thing,” just at a slower pace, which is a cute callback to the beginning of the album. The lyrics are still uplifting, but slower and a little darker. The instruments were also mixed with heavier editing and can kind of lose the lyrics at certain points. The vibe of this track is cozy and warm, despite being a little repetitive.

“Little Dive”:
This track stands out for its raw, almost grungy sound. The distorted-sounding guitar and almost garage-band feeling, sounds a little more rough than the other songs. However, the difference is unique and the shift between the first half, which was somewhat of a slow start, to the second half, which picks up speed, is very interesting to listen to. The lyrics also tell a story using imagery.

“Outta Here”:
This track has kind of an eerie sounding intro that draws the listener in with the quiet instrumental and focus on vocals, and has an overall dark tone compared to the rest of the album. After the introduction, the song picks up speed gradually and keeps shifting pace back and forth, for a unique sounding song. The title of this song is actually called back to in one of the album’s singles, “Magpie,” with the lyric “We ain’t gonna get you outta here.”

“Did You Love Somebody”:

This track begins with a soft, acoustic guitar intro before going into the quiet vocals that remain for the rest of the song. The lyrics continued themes of sharing vulnerable emotions. It’s a sadder song for sure, but it has a warm vibe that fits in with the other songs. This had less of the band’s usual rock and pop sound, and more folk rather, and is reminiscent of some of the other slower songs made by them in the past.

“St. Mark’s Funny Feeling”:

This song started with a rocking electric guitar intro with a catchy and upbeat sound. To me, this was the “happiest” sounding song on the album (as long as you’re not listening to the lyrics). It sounds like some of Peach Pit’s previous biggest hits, such as “Shampoo Bottles” and “Give Up Baby Go.” This song has a “fake ending” before actually ending with the same guitar riff solo from the beginning of the song as a fun callback.

“Magpie”:

This is a very fast-paced and catchy song, and it’s definitely understandable why they made it both the first single released from the album as well as the title track. It’s got a great mix of upbeat and dismal feelings, and is a fun listen. The only problem with it was that it had a similar issue as before with the lyrics being overpowered by the background instrumentals. As of writing this, it remains the only song from the album with its own music video so far, as well. 

“Nowhere Next to Me”:

This song jumps into the lyrics right off the bat and maintains the same slow pace for the whole length. This song is also kind of repetitive and boring, but it’s still a nice sort of “cool-down” from Magpie and the more fast-paced songs. The next songs are also slower, so this is a good transition to that as well.

“Wax & Wane”:

This is another slower-paced song that again falls into the category of being boring and repetitive. The song is okay, and doesn’t really have any strong sense of sound or emotion. It’s not a bad song, but it doesn’t really stand out from some of the other songs on “Magpie.”

“Your Long Black Hair”:

This song was a great way to close out the album. It, in a way, incorporated all of the overall aspects of the other songs, like the upbeat but sad moods due to the emotional lyrics, the medium pacing, and overall sound. It also offers an interesting contrast to the fast and happier sounding first track, “Every Little Thing.” It sounds like what we’ve come to know Peach Pit as, and is a well-rounded way to end their new album.

Overall, the lyrics on “Magpie” are honest and relatable with a focus on love, longing and self-reflection. Some songs get a little repetitive, but the simplicity of the lines makes them catchy and easy to remember for singing along. Some lyrics get vulnerable, and make the songs a more emotional experience to listen to.

The instrumental aspects of “Magpie” were similar to previous releases, and included great guitar solos and upbeat backgrounds. Some songs, however, such as “Little Dive,” deviated from the typical sound and sounded a little more rough and unpolished, which emphasized the mood of the lyrics.

For the most part, the audio production was pretty smooth and the songs were cohesive. However, there were a few parts of the album as listed above in which the vocals and the instrumentals did not blend very well. The sound was still good, but it became slightly difficult to hear all of the lyrics.

The lyric videos for “Magpie” are visually appealing and fit the overall aesthetic of the album, with most using interesting editing and graphics to visually entertain while listening to the songs.

The album art is a painting of a milk crate labeled “Magpie,” which is a painting created by artist Jack Kenna. It’s a simple design, but it conveys the feel of the album well.

The promotion around “Magpie” has included updating the band’s website, promoting the new music on social media, and releasing the three new singles: “Magpie,” “Do You Love Somebody,” and “Every Little Thing.” The marketing wasn’t over-the-top and was an effective way to get fans excited about the new music.

Peach Pit has already released dates and pre-sales for their Canada and Europe tour, with other locations still to be determined and the US tour not announced as of yet.

Overall, listening to “Magpie” was really enjoyable. It was a solid album with a lot of great songs, but some of the songs just felt like time-fillers. Though it wasn’t their best album, and it didn’t add a new sound to the table, it was still “classic Peach Pit” and was a good listen.

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