Music

Peach Kelli Pop tell us why we should care about their band

by Mark Teo

“Why Should We Care” is an AUX web series, where we get musicians to defend their work by answering one simple question: Why should we care about your music? This week: California-via-Ottawa power-pop outfit Peach Kelli Pop. 

Peach Kelli Pop is the side project of Allie Hanlon, best known as the drummer for Dirtnap-signed Ottawa garage punks White Wires. But while the Wires are lauded for their meticulous attention to genre purity, Peach Kelli Pop is Hanlon getting adventurous: Here, as the band’s primary songwriter, she dabbles in everything from sugar-shocked Portland power pop, to scrappy stripped-down twee, to earnest true-blue pop-punk. Burger Records—who prodigiously released a tape a day in January—cut her most recent self-titled cassette during that spree. And yes, it’s adorable. Sure, it’s infectious. But, through the barrage of Soundclouds and new Drake tracks, there’s one burning question: Why in the hell should we care about Peach Kelli Pop, anyhow?

We caught up with Hanlon to get an answer.

You just put out a cassette in January. So, why should we care about it?

(Laughs.) No one should care unless they want to. I wouldn’t try to push Peach Kelli Pop on anyone! If  you’re into fun, light, feminine pop that doesn’t take itself too seriously, you might find something to like about Peach Kelli Pop. We fit a really good melody into a really short amount of time, so people with short attention spans will dig it.

Fair enough. But what’s the harshest criticism you’ve received from someone who doesn’t dig your music?

No one’s said anything really harsh. A lot of people don’t say anything valid. A lot of people will say something sassy about how we look, or focus on what we’re wearing. Someone—in Toronto, actually—said that my first album cover creeped them out, which was weird. I’m wearing a swimsuit on it, and it’s not really revealing, and this person said that I’m trying to attract creepy guys with it. I didn’t appreciate that.

Your latest album was released on Burger, who released a cassette a day in January. Forget sticking out in the music world at large—how do you manage to stick out on Burger’s roster?

I’d say when I’m trying to write songs, I don’t try to sound like anything. I don’t try to sound like a Burger band, or try to be different—I just try to make music that sounds exactly like something I’d listen to. With Peach Kelli Pop, I set a standard for everything—I’m teaching people parts, I’m doing the singing, the backup singing, and I’m playing with other people live. There’s more pressure than playing in White Wires, where I’d only focus on drums.

Let’s talk about your cassette itself. Do you ever feel like it gets misinterpreted? It gets frequently compared to’60s girl groups, but I’d liken it more closely to power pop.

Definitely, that’s a good observation! People have also said that the second album’s lo-fi, and it’s not, really. People call it twee, or indie rock, but it’s not really that, either—when I think of indie rock, I think of Broken Social Scene. People have an idea of what the band sounds like, but they’re not actually listening. A lot of people describe it in a way that’s not accurate.

Ottawa’s punk scene—thanks to the likes of White Wires, Steve Adamyk and the gloriously dumb New Swears—feels like it’s on a hot streak. What’s up with that?

I’d say it started with [White Wires singer] Ian Manhire, when he moved from Calgary to Ottawa, though he’s originally from the city. That was in 2007, and he brought a whole positive vibe with him, and inspired a lot of people to get excited about music and start bands. It’s when everything got fun again, and now, I’d probably say there are 20 people playing in great bands.

Listen to “Panchito ii,” from Peach Kelli Pop’s self-titled cassette, below.