H R H - R E V I E W S

Peal
Beautiful Baby Elephant Independent

Comments: Beautiful Baby Elephant is a catchy collection of up-tempo acoustic, pop rock music (yes, that used to be three separate genres of music back in the day). There aren't any songs that instantly get stuck in your head after the first spin, but it doesn't take more than a couple times through the album and you're singing along quite easily through every chorus.

This album has good variation from song to song. Whether they adjust the tempo, instrumentation, tones or all-of-the-above, Peal does an excellent job of keeping the listener into the music throughout the entire album.

Overall, Beautiful Baby Elephant is very well produced. The layering of acoustic and electric guitars create a very rich sound. Tim Wilsbach has a Richard Marx/Mitch Malloy quality to his voice. It's very clean and full. Ed Toth adds some light distortion on the vocals in the verse and some other effects on the guitar solo of "Get In Your Way", but it probably distracts from the song more than it helps. Although, you can't get down on a guy for trying to keep things fresh in this 'hit the next button'-happy society.

The lyrics are mostly about life's relationships with other people and the inner relationship with one's self. The emotions and messages in the songs are easy to relate to for anyone that's had at least a handful of life experiences.

"Maria" is probably the song that will stand out the most with its sing-along sugar-chorus. Harmonies never hurt the 'sing-along' factor, do they? "Fall Away" is another song that stands out with its harmonies and call-and-answer vocals. The band adds an excellent layered texture in this song with the use of a violin.

While not having the most powerful chorus of all the songs, "Down" is a very well written song. The combination of acoustic guitar and drums give it a spunky feel. The arrangement of the instruments and song structure is excellent here as well. Opening with "She don't come around anymore like she used to; she still comes around. And I can't hold her like I used to; I just hold her down.", this song just draws you in. It's a dark song, but the music has a lighter feel to it which makes it more lovable.

"Pure," the last track on the album, showcases Peal's dark, edgy side. It's a great finish to an album that is a cohesive collection of diverse feelings and songs.

Oh, but wait ... there's an unlisted track. For the sake of review, it shall be called Number 11 (this album goes to eleven!) This song is very stripped down, featuring perhaps just Tim Wilsbach singing along with his acoustic guitar. The production and instrumentation are very minimal and create a raw, powerful song. This might just be the best overall song on the album and is well worth the wait.

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Track listing:
Say Goodbye
Fall Away
Carousel Junkie
Let Me Breathe
Down
Get in Your Way
Maria
Lonely Alone
Rely
Pure

HRH Rating: 7/10

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