Peaer : Doppelgänger
Peaer’s last album, the acclaimed A Healthy Earth, was released in 2019, and it sure feels like it. In the years since, we’ve barely heard a peep from the dexterous Brooklyn indie rock trio. They prepared to take that celebrated record on the road, but like many things at the start of this decade, the pandemic curtailed those plans. Aside from an odds-and-ends EP in 2020 and occasional one-off gigs, Peaer seemed dormant—then, last November, the single “Just Because” suddenly emerged to state otherwise. That song—groovy, restrained, and ascendant—is at once classic Peaer and the new, wizened version of the band we hear going forward.
Doppelgänger encompasses all eras of the band, with some songs’ origins dating even before their 2016 self-titled debut album. That’s when Peaer—frontman and guitarist Peter Katz, bassist Thom Lombardi, and drummer Jeremy Kimmy—were all juniors in college, fuelled by a fervent, youthful angst. As the time has passed, their music has turned considerably less corrosive. Some jolts of raucous riffs remain, but Doppelgänger mainly contains the band’s unfolding, subdued side. This thoughtful precision for melody in turn shows more life experience put into them. By the time the lockdowns were lifted, the three settled into stabler careers—often an inevitability of adult life—while struggling to give life to their leftover material.
All of the themes they cover on their third album come from this lived-in place. The unfurling “No More Today” delineates a clear-cut abstinence from alcohol, drugs, and debauchery, where they’ve each become distractions rather than pleasures. The steadier “Button” confronts the balance of a monotonous office job with creative endeavors. The most crushing of the bunch is “Future Me,” a sparser, acoustic entry, where a young Katz asks their future self if they’ve abandoned their ambitions, asking defeatedly “Future me, can it be? / Have you given up on everything?” to abrupt, stark silence. Peaer’s latest songs explore notions of change, imbued with some hope of seizing onto whatever youthful fervor they have left in their now more prosaic lives.
This is where the title Doppelgänger comes into play, embodying this lyrical reckoning of one’s own mental image compared to how they really are. Furthermore, Peaer’s musical prowess is as great as ever despite the hurdles to regain songwriting momentum. The trading of jarring chords for consistent melodies has let their rhythms breathe more than ever before. Kinney stepping up for production alone also shows how confident Peaer are with their arrangements this time. Opener “End of the World” chirps with cheery math rock riffage, while deep cut “Rose in My Teeth” is captivatingly chilling. Katz’s spidery chords and succinct whispers on the latter are evocative of Pinback at their most ominous. Once a flurry of fluctuating feedback erupts at its conclusion, it’s proof that the fiery intensity of youth is still lit deep within the group.
Peaer’s formula is still reliable. The trio may be in a very different place in their lives compared to when they began as young adults, but despite juggling grown-up obligations, their vital and sincere guitar-centric introspections continue to be incredibly affecting. Change is inevitable with time—on Doppelgänger, Peaer have willingly embraced it to evolve beautifully.
Label: Danger Collective
Year: 2025
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