Peach Kelli Pop, Gentle Leader Review

Coming from the land of sunshine with a punk sound that is colorfully on the edge is Peach Kelli Pop with their fourth full length album titled, Gentle Leader. The album finds the band reaching for new material, collaborations, and depth. The Gentle Leader cover art is a fantastical illustration by Brooklyn artist Miza Coplin, which is simply beautiful! The Canadia founder, Allie Hanlon, has written eight of the ten songs, each show a new direction in confidence, both as a musician and songwriter. There is one cover by an 80s UK band called the Marine Girls, done in a Violent-Femmes style. Hanlon shared production duties with engineer Roland Cosio, who also played guitar on some of the tracks. Sophie Negrini is also featured on guitar, Andrew Bassett of Portland’s party-punk band The Mean Jeans is on the drum throne. Gina Negrini, the band’s bassist, contributed the song “Quiet.” Gentle Leader benefits by the new collaborative spirit as it brings out the many strengths of the band and creates a more polished sound, but the Hanlon vision is still intact, and this is still truly a Peach Kelli Pop outing! That’s the short of it!