Despite his Spanish name, Peñate is pure Londoner. Even more, his family is integrated in British culture for generations as his grandfather, Mervyn Peake, was the author of the illustrious Gormenghast trilogy. His music is overtly commercial (maybe too radio/club-friendly for my taste), almost a mix of mega-sellers Coldplay and Daft Punk. But it doesn't sound like a shrewd attempt to take over the charts so much - more like the work of a pop-minded songwriting talent with a disregard for musical genre boundaries. "Pull My Heart Away" is that Coldplay moment, but more effervescent, with handclaps and tropicalia guitars. "Be The One" is an infectious dance number with a disco beat, synths and backing vocals but an indie vocal/lyrical sensibility. "Everything Is New" reminds me of Vampire Weekend's afro-pop experiments and "Tonight's Today" is another dance number with a funky bass and electronic beat a la Daft Punk and backing vocals that could come straight from the Rio Carnaval. "So Near" and "Give Yourself Away" have a nice danceable rhythm but are otherwise unremarkable. On "Every Glance" he employs his best Morrissey croon over what sounds like a discarded Gorillaz experiment, while on "Let's All Die" he borrows from Franz Ferdinand's armory of disco-punk to make the happiest-sounding song about death: "When our life is over, let's not cry/Over and over again/Death becomes our only friend/Let's all die!". Like they say if you can't lick 'em...something. "Body Down" could have come straight from Moby's seminal "Play" album: same mixture of melancholic beats, gospel vocals and New Wave guitars. In retrospect, the most amazing aspect of Peñate's album is that it didn't achieve the same stratospheric success and omnipresence. Like with what happened with "Play", I'd expect to hear theses songs in every pub, boutique and hair salon in the city around that time. Then again, I don't believe I even had one haircut during 2009-2010...
**** for Pull My Heart Away, Be The One, Tonight's Today, Let's All Die
*** for Everything Is New, Every Glance, Body Down
** for So Near, Give Yourself Away
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