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In an age when the radio bombards us with rap, drum’n’bass, and the latest upstart from The X Factor, when every time you go into a club the same music is playing AGAIN, The Pierces are something of a breath of fresh air. It’s hard to pin down exactly what their music is: it ranges from folk to pop via rock and psychedelic, depending on which of their four albums you listen to. Made up of Allison and Catherine Pierce, two sisters from Alabama, the chances are that, after almost eleven years in the business, you still won’t have heard of them.
Their first two albums were kept disappointingly quiet, although one feels that this might have been because their music was not quite mainstream enough for the radio. Their third album, Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge, released in 2007, began to get them noticed; in fact it earned them an appearance on an episode of Gossip Girl in December that year, which is where I first heard them. Compared at best to Fleetwood Mac and at worst to a Dixie Chicks tribute act, The Pierces will split music fans in two. Some people will hate their softer sound, some will say that they’re too 70s, folky or country. And that’s fine, because some people out there are going to fall in love with this duo.
Their fourth and latest album, You & I, was released earlier this year, but despite it reaching number four in the UK album charts, their highest charting single, You’ll Be Mine, only reached number 42. Which is odd, because their gauzy, blurry-eyed music is perfect for lazy summer evenings spent watching the sun go down. Blame the weather, blame whatever you like; even with numerous radio plays they still aren’t getting the notice they deserve. Perhaps part of this is due to the slight paradox that they’re in: their earlier music, which I happen to prefer, is slightly too folksy and unconventional to get much radio play; now that they’ve toned it down a little, with input from Guy Berryman and Will Champion of Coldplay adding a slightly more ‘rock’ element, they’ve lost some of the charm that the individuality of their first three albums held.
For me, Thirteen Tales is their best album, slightly less ‘country’ than the preceding two, whilst retaining their unique sound. Tracks to listen out for include ‘Secret’ and ‘Boring’, and the slightly more upbeat ‘Turn On Billie’. My personal favourite is the beautifully harmonised ‘Three Wishes’, but I’ll leave it up to you to decide.
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