Bobby Treacle’s Cartel – The Peacock King (Album Review)

Sometimes, music can have a memorable origin that makes it sentimental but also be the stepping stone for something with a greater purpose. It could be seen as coincidental to some but have an understanding that only you and those closest to you can truly understand. In this case, in today’s review, we will uncover a release that has a very similar origin to the situation mentioned.

This concerns the artist Bobby Treacle’s Cartel and the release of his fourth studio album, titled ‘The Peacock King’.

In its conception, The Peacock King first came to the artist from a moment captured on Whitstable Beach in Kent, back in 2016 on the eve of his son turning 3 years old. This precious moment, captured in an image, is also the album cover, as the artist says it it perfectly captures the vibe and the sound of the record- an ode to innocence and self-belief.

The artist also mentions that when he thinks about The Peacock King as a whole he sees it as a moment captured in time and also as closure. Most literally, through a half-finished project from over eight years ago, but also on a much bigger time perspective.

Some of these songs on the release date back to the early 2010s, with the artist writing brand new lyrics over these songs. Since they’re more than 15 years old, revisiting these tracks and writing new lyrics to them feels like the artist is exchanging ideas with his younger self.

The process of making The Peacock King was also described as a labour of love in every sense of the word with nine new recordings that the artist is extremely proud of. The record was co-produced and recorded by Phil Dearing, who helped bring the record to life with amazing patience and guidance. The LP will also be available to stream, download and also be available in traditional formats like vinyl and CD.

The project in its entirely possesses a distinct indie-rock sensibility to it, with a strong acoustic nature to it. Even though the instrumentation within the release is fairly organic without much regard for too much synthesis or sound design, it has a presence through the decent mastering and the general emotional tone and intensity within the instruments. The artist’s vocal tone definitely fits the genre that the album primarily consists of, with a tender and homely voice that will surely tug on someone’s heartstrings and make them relate to the songs and reminisce as well.

In a sense, I do feel like people who are used to artists like The Smiths and Death Cab for Cutie with a bit of Tears for Fears mixed into it would truly enjoy the album. Tracks like ‘St Louie’s House’ possess an alternative 90s rock feel to it with a strong capacity for audiences to sing along to it, while tracks like ‘Endless Life’ would definitely put you in the mind of being in the passenger’s seat of a vehicle, staring out into the world and contemplating. It has a direct, logical train of emotions that it explores, making it somewhat predictable, but earnest at the same time.

The instruments are played with so much gusto and passion throughout the album that it can sincerely be felt, and that’s one of the strongest parts of the album. It is not fake and inauthentic at all. It is distinctively earnest and heartwarming, with the lyricism and the timbre of the instruments truly making me feel warm inside- with a bit of holisticness as the instrumentation possesses deep motivic variation embedded into its compositions, just mastered lower so that there can be a dynamic ‘3-dimensional’ feel within the recordings.

As much as the whole record gets predictable, I think the quality of the songs are extremely lush and all-encompassing. It doesn’t need rapid evolution or genre-hopping to engage its audience. One of the most impressive songs on this record is ‘In Waves and Rushes’, with its slight ambient and deep mastering. It’s an album to relate to, it’s an album to relate to, it’s an album to contemplate to, it’s an album that you can put your headphones on to and forget about your troubles in the world. A magical piece of art.

SCORE/Excellent: The Peacock King is an album that’s positively deceiving, appearing humble in its conception but actually has the capacity to totally suck you in and be entirely engaging. It is a warm, contemplative body of art that shines in its strengths.

If you liked this, you can keep up with Bobby Treacle on Facebook, Instagram or his Official Website.