Earlier this week, Vancouver-based Indie darlings Peach Pit dropped their new track “Magpie” in advance of its eagerly anticipated, similarly titled parent album. Magpie‘s October 25th release will be the band’s most recent since 2022’s From 2 to 3, with this titular single being their first musical offering since that album’s “Vicky.” “Magpie” sees Peach Pit – who have previously characterized their music as “chewed bubblegum pop” – coloring their trademark aesthetics with layers of rich harmonic fuzz. No pun intended.
“Magpie” is founded upon the kind of rhythm that might be somewhat stereotypically labeled as “propulsive,” but in this case that descriptor fits to a tee. A locomotive bassline in perfect lockstep with the song’s insistent, steadily upbeat drums urge the song forward, while a by turns trebly, chimey and grimy guitar dominates its almost roots-rock harmonic demesne. The track’s opaque lyrics are crooned in a smooth, high tenor touched with a slapback delay that creates a sense of being near, yet somehow distant from our narrator, and are positioned just so in the mix as to be forward but not to overpower a distorted, vivid instrumental backdrop. All these elements, paired with a functionally ornamental organ in the background, blend into a decidedly ’70s feel, following a trend amongst other indie luminaries like Kurt Vile and Courtney Barnett in revising the playbook laid out by artists in the vein of Fleetwood Mac and Tom Petty for recent years and younger ears.
“Magpie’s” scenic accompanying video features the band racing around at night down nondescript suburban streets. Shots of the band running and biking are cut together with them sprawled out on living room furniture, miming their performance through VR headsets. These images, spliced with the occasional closeup, mirror that same paradoxical sense of space instilled by the song’s vocals, giving us the sense of being both close and distant observers on a colorful evening hang.