Best of 2020
Peel Dream Magazine have been struck with the bad luck of having not one, but two records come out in 2020 during periods of national lockdown - the first back in April with the release of their much-loved second album, and now with the Moral Panics EP out this week. Don't let that lose sight of what is, musically-speaking at least, a perfect book-end to the year for the band, Moral Panics every bit the equal to Agitprop Alterna. Mostly recorded during the same sessions, the vinyl pressing collects together eight tracks (two of which are exclusive to the format and as of right now, unavailable anywhere else) that do exactly what an EP should do - ie allow the artist to roam around their sound, follow odd threads of inspiration and walk down previously closed pathways. As such, you get a few different versions of PDM here: the C86 buzzsaw of New Culture, the space age minimalist pop of Life at the Movies, the cosmic kraut-y touch of The Furthest Nearby Place, and in nine minute long centrepiece of Geodesic Dome, a new iteration of the band that's part Stereolab's Blue Milk and part New Age mind's eye self-exploration. Feels almost a disservice to call this an EP, such is the scope. On limited yellow vinyl, that looks pretty sharp against that beautiful lilac sleeve.
