Peach Luffe’s Beyond EP is perfectly suited to bring a little sunshine to battle back the February blahs.
February is such a fucked-up month. At its start, we blindly look to a rodent to determine the course of the rest of winter; in the middle, we subject ourselves to the soul-crushing drama of Valentine’s Day. It’s no wonder that we end the month a few days early and move onto March as soon as possible.
Though released at the tail end of January and inspired by events that happened in October, I can’t help but feel that the latest from Peach Luffe is perfectly suited as February’s soundtrack. The four songs on Beyond chronicle the collapse of project founder Jong Lee’s long-term relationship at the same time as “being in the midst of a crisis of personal confidence” and trying to become a permanent resident.
Far from being a dour downer, Beyond is bursting at its seams with sun-soaked melodies and a lyrical sincerity that belies just how profoundly things changed for Jong Lee in the blink of an eye last year. He wrote and recorded the EP while travelling back and forth between Toronto and San Jose, a situation hinted at in the title track (“Leave the stars and honeymoon daze to the youth / Because the flame that lit our hearts / Burnt out while we were apart,”), with California’s influence writ large in the sing-songy beach vibes of “Disaster” and bouncy “True Love.”
The bright and sparkly dream-pop of “Lights” brings this particular lovelorn chapter in Jong Lee’s life to a swift and satisfying conclusion, suggesting that while he’s not entirely out of the doldrums (“I’m hating everything I love lately / I hate the taste of my favourite phrases,”), he’s ready for whatever comes next. When it comes to matters of the heart, it’s easy to get trapped in an endless Groundhog Day loop of emotions, but if Beyond is any indication, Jong Lee is marching in the right direction, both personally and professionally.
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