(label)
29 January 2016 (released)
10 January 2016
Chicago based synth pop duo Peppermint Heaven are unlike any other act currently occupying the charts, but from the very first listen their debut album Precious Things will feel like you have heard it before.
This is actually not a bad thing, nor a small achievement. For Peppermint Heaven have crafted an album whose sound is so authentic that it will make you question whether you have heard these songs on an album by Duran Duran, Morrissey or Erasure. Given that so many acts in the charts these days are intent on borrowing from these musical greats, the fact Peppermint Heaven have managed to release an album that sits so happily alongside them, is a real feat of musical ingenuity.
Precious Things is not constructed in the same way as many artists build an album these days. Precious Things is not centred on three radio friendly singles and filled out with passable but uninspiring numbers. Instead it boasts very proudly eleven distinctive gems that work as stand alone numbers as well as in the context of the album body. They do not outshine each other, yet somehow manage to shine brightly on their own merits.
As a result it is rather challenging to highlight key songs. However, after several listens, it becomes apparent that when they channel unexpected influences that they shine the brightest. With echoes of the playfully anthemic Right Said Fred on Waiting Game, the revelation of their lighter edge amongst what is a dark, brooding collection is a light relief and will have you hypnotised as you head for the dancefloor.
The Johnny Hates Jazz tinged Foreign Feeling is without doubt the album's biggest earworm. The original band could have learnt something from this duo on their lacklustre return release Magnetized a few years ago. Desperate to be relevant, they lost sight of what their fans really wanted. Now if Peppermint Heaven remixed that record, maybe things would be different for them now...
With shadows of Roxy Music, Duran Duran and the Jason Newton/Bella Bennett incarnation of Blue Angel, album closer Talk To Me finishes proceedings with a real dramatic edge. A stentorian backbeat and enthralling harmonies make you beg for the album to continue to just a little longer.
Precious Things may not be the album for those wishing for something fresh, but for those that have nostalgic pangs everytime they here an 80s number, whether they have lived through the decade or not, this is the perfect answer. Without the pressure placed on those acts that have returned to deliver something current, Peppermint Heaven have been allowed to deliver something truly authentic.
