The Peach Kings Be Around

It's no secret that I have a huge crush on Los Angeles-based The Peach Kings. It's been awesome to hear their sound evolve -- from the trip-hop/doo-wop feel of early single "By Your Side" to their bourbon 'n blues rock "Thieves & Kings," I've gotten to know the duo pretty well. Paige Wood and Steven Trezevant have that certain rock 'n' roll appeal: they're both extremely talented, their voices strike that certain dangerous chord, and they're both incredibly attractive (if you look up "sultry" in the dictionary, you'd probably see a picture of Paige Wood). Oh yeah, and they're a couple!

"Be Around," taken from their latest EP Mojo Thunder, was recorded with the help of Mophonics in Venice, CA. Fun fact: the song was originally written as an acoustic, folksy number. But Paige and Steven decided to take it in a different direction, taking "full advantage of the sonic toys [they] had at [their] disposal and quickly moved away from the folk and towards the swamp." The single is dreamy but edgy at the same time; it drips with psychedelic undertones. According to the duo, they tried to use synths in "non-synthy ways," which creates a hazy, sonic landscape for the listener to get lost in.

Today, we're excited to share the premiere of their music video for "Be Around." They worked with Paul Trillo, the same creator responsible for their "Lonely" and "Thieves & Kings" videos. Using double exposure photography as his inspiration, Paul collected visual textures on his travels and interweaved those shots with footage of Paige and Steven. Here's a statement from Paul:

"My approach to the Peach Kings videos has always been to match the tone and feeling of the song. It sounds simple but it's something a lot of people overlook. The "Be Around" video doesn't tell so much of a literal narrative or sync to the lyrics. What I hope it does is evoke the sound in a visual form. The video takes elements from the song such as being on the move, growing distance from someone and combining this melodic singing with distorted 60s guitar. All these things made it into the pot and got stirred around.

It's also a sort of extension of my previous work that plays with negative and positive space. The double exposure technique I think works well with the themes in the song since it's about saying one thing and doing something else. The more truthful thoughts are usually held within and we have trouble letting them out."

To me, there's something intrinsically 70s in the video's aesthetic; perhaps it's the color palette. Press play and bliss out below:



So, what's next for The Peach Kings? They've begun work on a longer release of all-new material (woo!) that they're hoping will capture the intimacy of their band as well as their unique live sound. There's no release date set yet, but you can bet that 2014 holds big things for Paige and Steve. These guys are going to be huge, I can feel it.