What I am listening to: The Peacocks

I still learn about new bands in very traditional ways, but in 2022, streaming and the algorithm sites are part of my musical diet. I don’t think that I find as many new bands this way, but for some of the niche genres I love like surf, rockabilly and garage rock, it’s a good way to get exposure. The Peacocks are a Swiss rockabilly trio with 8 albums since 1995. While rockabilly is a seemingly easy style to play, it’s still a matter of how some bands click with me more than others. One of my most favorite artists is Lee Rocker. What I like about his solo albums is that he pulls the best from the traditional 50s stars like Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent, and the pop radio sound from the band he played in, the Stray Cats. I became a fan of the Peacocks right away, specifically 2011’s excellent record After All. The Peacocks are definitely descendants of the Stray Cats with a strong ear for melodies. Allmusic probably isn’t wrong when they compare the band to early Elvis Costello or “third wave ska”. Nor would it be necessarily wrong to say the band is sonic cousins to 90s bands like Rocket from the Crypt, Social Distortion and Rancid via a shared love of the 50s and Clash influence. I suppose it’s one of the credits to the “new normal” that I can find a band that is seemingly hidden from view and then discover a whole discography that I wouldn’t know about. That seems incredibly unlikely from tuning into the usual sources. It is also interesting to look at the stats on Spotify (where I discovered the band). The Peacocks have a song with a million streams. While when I look at their other songs and compare them to what I would consider bands with “regional followings”, their numbers are much less. Similarly, the song's YouTube views are barely in the thousands. But all of this is uncharted territory and at the end of the day, I found a band I loved, and many more songs than that.