Listening through Speak’s sophomore album and I’m immediately transported to that scene in Back to the Future in which Marvin Berry is on the phone with his cousin shouting excitedly: “Chuck! Chuck, it’s Marvin. Your cousin, Marvin Berry! You know that new sound you’e looking for? Well, listen to this!”
Friends, if BTTF was remade today (Please gahd, don’t!) Speak would be that “new sound”. They absolutely sound like nothing out there today. Part electronic, part Pop, part ’80’s throwback….however you choose to describe them, the sound they create on sophomore album Pedals is undeniably massive.
The minute “Gates” opens up Pedals listeners are instantly enveloped in that massive sound. It’s singer/keyboardist Troupe Gammage’s monolithic keys, Nick Hurt’s epic guitar solo, Jake Stewart’s percussive stomp…just everything about “Gates” is fantastic. And that’s just the first song! Later still, bassist Joey Delahoussaye lays down some funky lines that would make John Taylor jealous while “Oh Lord” has hints of The Faint somewhere within. Gammage, meanwhile, vocally treads a fine line between Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig and Adam Levine during the more falsetto moments making the densely layered songs he writes even more interesting.
Think of Speak as a marriage of Vampire Weekend with Tears For Fears if you’re looking for comparisons. The best thing about Speak, though, is that once you think you have them figured out they go to the complete opposite end of the musical spectrum. The quiet, acoustic, instrumental “Weiss” segue’s perfectly into “This Much I Know” with bits of Country and even Gospel early in the album but then drummer Stewart gets to flex his chops on the march of “Heavy Metal War” complete with a horn section further in. It’s this kind of diversity from song to song that is truly the beauty of Pedals and Speak.
Pedals is out on June 24th. Pre-order yours on Itunes and Amazon now. But more importantly, head on over to Speak’s official website to see when you can catch them live on tour with Gemini Club and The Griswolds.