Initially launched as a solo project over a decade ago before taking its present form of a trio, Brooklyn’s Peaer lands somewhere in the vast space between the punk scene that founder Peter Katz grew up in and the classical music he studied in college. Arriving six years after its predecessor, the project’s third album aims to serve as a continuation of the band’s early math-pop material while staying true to who Katz has become in the meantime, with some of the album’s recordings being repurposed from their initial versions recorded 10 years ago. Hence the album title Doppelgänger, a reference to the uncanny and all-too-familiar experience of uncovering vestiges of a former version of yourself that can seem hardly familiar.
There’s a similar tension at play within the compositions heard on Doppelgänger. As Katz walks us through the record track by track, he leaves something of a breadcrumb trail when it comes to his influences, which range here from the proggy post-hardcore of The Mars Volta to the glistening pop of Wish-era The Cure, with slowcore-inspired artists like Phil Elverum, David Bazan, and Bedhead in between (he also cites a weirdly apt symbol for the politely dejected sounds of Peaer: “Sorry, we’re closed!” signs). While that set of influences hasn’t necessarily changed over the past decade since the band released their self-titled debut, crisper production provided by drummer Jeremy Kinney improves their ability to communicate these ideas.
With the album out today via their new label Danger Collective, listen along below while you read through Katz’s breakdown of the political and personal changes (e.g. the hellification of Earth, turning 30) that additionally helped shape these songs.
1. “End of the World”
This song was inspired by a scary and convincing email I once received claiming that all of my information and accounts were being held hostage unless I paid some amount of Bitcoin. I never responded and nothing ever happened, but the paranoia stuck with me. It’s hard to deny that our world is in societal turmoil. We’re reminded of new and fresh horrors every day. There’s a persistent theme in a lot of art that accepts the apocalypse (post-apocalyptic movies, shows, games), and that attitude started to annoy me a bit. It seems like everyone is ready to give up, but I really don’t want to sing about the end of the world—I don’t want the world to end!
2. “Part of the Problem”
When the 2016 election was in full swing, we were all introduced to the bright red MAGA hat. it quickly became a signifier of a certain type of person. Politics and culture finally collided in a way that was inevitable, but still felt unprecedented. This song is a sardonic response to the lofty promises that are made to us, sort of a cynical joke that there’s one “common solution to all of the problems in our lives.” David Bazan/Pedro the Lion was a big touch point for this one.
3. “Just Because”
Musically, I was really inspired by the song “High” by The Cure—I love the effervescence and movement that track has and wanted to emulate it. Originally this riff had chord shapes that ended up hurting my hand, so I had to find an alternate tuning to make the chords more comfortable to play (DAEGBE). We worked a lot on the bridge/breakdown part of this song, with the overarching idea being the guitar and drums forming a rhythmic lattice while the bass plays a more soaring, soloistic line. [Bassist Thom Lombardi] really nailed it. A lot of the most special moments of the album are a result of his contributions.
4. “No More Today”
The trope of turning 30 and reflecting on your youth may be cliche, but it’s unavoidable! This song is about reflecting on what you can’t really do anymore and owning up to the fact that we are all smarter than we think we are. The line “No more today” was inspired by one of those “Sorry, we’re closed!” signs that you see at shops. I’m really proud of the key change that happens about halfway through this song—I think the first time I’ve been able to do that satisfyingly in one of my songs. Another Bazan-inspired track.
5. “Rose in My Teeth”
The chord progression/bass line/drum beat for this song was something I had on the backburner for what felt like years. This was probably the last song we finished writing for this album. Truthfully, I feel like we still could crack it open and keep working on it. We really fell in love with the more psychedelic vibe of the track. Lyrically, I relied on phonetics and puns, keeping with the dreamier images and themes—almost stream-of-consciousness. My favorite one: “Met with the chairman, he gave me a seat.”
6. “Button”
A few years ago I accepted a full-time position tour managing orchestras and choirs. I like what I do, but the time commitment made me have to reevaluate my priorities a bit. For so long, touring and “doing the band thing” was the central force of my life and felt like the biggest tenet of my personality. Now that I had started shifting away from that, I had to do a bit of soul-searching, which is what this track is about. Musically I was really inspired by the song “Turmoil” by Mount Eerie—we wanted this track to feel like it was always happening in the background, and this recording is the listener “tuning in.” The choruses on this song ended up being some of my favorite moments on the album, another moment where Thom’s bass playing elevated the track to new heights.
7. “I.D.W.B.W.Y.”
Another extremely old riff that had been kicking around the proverbial vault since…2015? 2016? We wanted this song to sound like slow-motion, or like slowly moving through a star field like those old Microsoft screen savers. Our touchpoint was Bedhead and songs like “Exhume,” where every note is so carefully placed and intentional. Lyrically this turned into a love song, with a lot of the lyrics originating in a stream-of-consciousness recording. Another song where Thom’s bass work is transformative.
8. “Bad News”
This song started with three separate ideas: the bass line, the chorus chord progression, and the outro riff. We spent a lot of time weaving these ideas together and tinkering with the transitions and dynamics of each part. Our musical touchpoint was Pinback (an all-timer band for me). I also am really happy with how the guitar solo came out. I really wanted it to sound like Omar Rodriguez-Lopez from The Mars Volta, so hopefully that comes through. Lyrically it ruminates on missing out, reflecting on where you are versus where you want to be, and the idea that, given a situation where you have no obligations, responsibilities, or anyone perceiving you, who would you choose to be?
9. “Future Me”
Originally this song wasn’t going to be on the album. Then it was going to be a “hidden track”or something. Eventually we thought it fit thematically and dynamically enough to work as a closing track. It was recorded in one take. We put up an iPhone as one of the mics and blended the voice memo recording into the track. Lyrically, it’s meant as a letter to my future self. It definitely came out a bit sadder than originally intended, but ended up being pretty cathartic, too. No, I haven’t given up on everything—if anything, I feel more revitalized than ever.
