I love it when you can actually hear the sex in a song. When the tones and reverberations of a really good hump session ooze through the speakers like hot, wet…well you get the idea.
Within the first few seconds of The Peels self-titled debut, panties become damp, and the bulge in those tight rock jeans begins to rise. This 8-song sexual hit-and-run is full of this hotness thanks in a large part to the breathy vocals of lead singer Robyn Miller. She comes across with the deftness of a true rock frontman, something not often captured by lead women in this genre. Miller is like the fine–tuned version of Maja Iverson of The Sounds, minus the annoying, coked-out sarcasm.
Luckily, Miller is also backed by an equally powerful trio of musicians who fulfill the garage rock fantasy in sound, not to mention appearance. Miller’s voice lies nicely beside Joshua Keats thick, clanging bass lines, creating the perfect environment to breed 8 close-to-perfect rock songs. Songs like “Only Son” and “Lay” serve as exhibitions of this quartet, showing that each instrument is an equal part of their throbbing whole.
The Peels debut comes off much like their former label-mates The Von Bondies’ 2004 release Pawn Shoppe Heart did; fierce, fiery, and unrelenting. The Peels forge a path in rock n’ roll all too familiar, but not often mastered. If their live show is anything like this record, I see a long future ahead for them.
