The Arizona based duo of Stefan Pruett and John O’Keefe have been making quite a noise over the last couple of years in the indie rock and art scenes. The culmination of that ruckus is the long player What Year Will You Have the World?..., an indie rock, avant-garde delight that is part Duran Duran and part Atom & His Package sprinkled ever so lightly with just a hint of Beck and Erasure. Coupled with healthy messages of love, hope, and revolution, these obvious influences fade to the background for the most part as there is an agenda here which wholly takes over. And why shouldn’t it?
The strength of this album is certainly that Pruett and O’Keefe are unafraid to make their songs accessible. Heavy melodies and dance-centric electronic rhythms abound and it makes the songs far and away more memorable than most emotionally-tinged indie rock. “Are Your People Ready to Shrink the Continents?!” is a great example of exactly what I’m talking about- it’s like a trainwreck that you just can’t turn away from. Everything the duo does is “wrong” and yet it comes off as poptastic as any Duran Duran track. The more straightforward “The Song of the Century!” is another solid example, ending the album on an extremely happy and wildly simple note. Other highlights include the instrumental, toe-tapping “Nervous Breakdance” and the Devo-ish “Make Movement, Not War!”
Honestly, I could see how many more traditional music lovers could hate this album. So, if that’s you, then you should check out the new Nickelback instead. If you enjoy electronic music, danceable pop, indie rock with a flare for the fun side of life, or just things that sound different from everything else without being all heavy and intense in their delivery than Peachcake is for you. This album is fun from start to finish and promises nothing more.
Review by Mark Fisher
