“peacocks”
Peacocks
in without knockin’
Jump Up!
Cheesey, tie-wearing punk and ska-punk from Switzerland. Sort of a Swiss Cheesey punk rock with a lot of rockabilly rhythm. We should all be glad that, in addition to pocket knives, cheese, free heroin and banking, Helvetia has produced a pretty good punk rock band.
Their costumes are right out of a Knack band photo and their sound harkens back to British bands like Gang of Four, the Clash during their Sandanista! period, with maybe a little Dave Edmunds thrown in. The Peacocks are a three-piece comprising electric guitar, upright bass and, I suspect, one of those stand-up drum kits. The result is what might be encountered had the Stray Cats decided to cover Undertones songs. It’s distinctive, the bass really stands out, adding just a little bit more of an edge to their snide, smug songs that are all about how much they like to play ska, but doggone it, we’re not a ska band (“What You Want,” “Untitled,” “Mr. Know It All,” etc.). Either that or they’re bragging about stealing riffs from other bands and admitting that they want to be a cross between Eddie Cochran and Jonathan Richman (“Let’s Rock”).
Jump Up! Records, P.O. Box 13189, Chicago, IL 60613; http://www.jumpuprecords.com