The second album from Brooklyn combo
P.E. (a collaboration between members of the bands
Pill and
Eaters) features a mixture of new wave and post-punk grooves, cracked electronics, and skronky sax similar to their 2020 debut,
Person. However, the group seem to have become more confident since their first outing, and most of their songs are considerably more accessible and hook-happy this time around. Opener "Blue Nude (Reclined)" is midtempo but with a bassline big enough to give it some bounce, and
Veronica Torres' vocals are smooth as a milkshake, while
Benjamin Jaffe's sax seems like it danced out of a
Waitresses song. "Lying with the Wolf" slows it down to trip-hop tempo, and
Jaffe's sax and frayed synths spin a web around
Torres' monologue-heavy lyrics. "Tears in the Rain," a duet with
Parquet Courts'
Andrew Savage, is a sophisti-pop ballad with a strangely lo-bit sample lurking beneath its shimmering percussion and rainfall effects. "The Reason for My Love" has a busy rhythm and drifting synths, managing to sound both tense and disconnected. "New Kind of Zen" starts out with hard, choppy drum programming and seductive vocals, switching to an ethereal second half with a bassline suspended in mid-air. Abstract piano experiment "86ed" precedes "Majesty," which has the group chanting "I want everything" along with shaker percussion and softly yet playfully smeared synths.
P.E. have yet to make an album of wall-to-wall bangers, but
The Leather Lemon finds the group a bit more in control of their sound. ~ Paul Simpson
