After researching new music day after day for years on end, one of the most consistently conflicting discoveries involves seeing a song title that includes the proper noun “California”. The amount of bands that draw inspiration from California is commendable, but at some point it’s hard to ignore the fact that there are thousands (not even being hyperbolic) of songs named after the Golden State. Pair that distaste for Californian titles with the fact that this band’s name is “Peace”, and you have yourself a full-blown preemptively judged book cover. Dive into that musical tome with as low expectations as I did however, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised find that this is actually quite the captivating west coast story.

Lack of percussion, choral oohs and ahhs, and slow isolated guitar picking lead listeners to believe that this English foursome are trying to put you into a distilled stupor with a soothing alternative lullaby. Once the ballad puts the characters in motion to “Go and watch the pretty girls in town,” the song quickly snowballs into motion as well. Percussion rightfully occupies empty space, rhythm guitar adds flavor to the background, and excitement flourishes as the song feels much more complete. Then, just when you think there’s going to be some epic finale post-guitar solo, Peace cut the added noise as a figurative comedown from the statewide daze that’s consumed them for the bulk of the song’s duration. It can be hard for some to take such a crunchy moral seriously, but the buildup and breakdown of “California Daze” can’t be ignored as an absorbing tactic into the message they’re trying to push.