L.A. duo ill peach is back with a new single and music video “HEAVYWEIGHT,” marking their first release after signing to the label Hardly Art. It was only a few years ago that Jess Corazza and Pat Morrissey shared their love of creating raucous grit-pop through their debut EP EXCUSE US WHILE WE FIND OUR MINDS. More singles soon followed like the hypnotic electropop track “BRIGHT LIGHTS” and “COMATOSE” — the latter released via Hardly Art. On their newest single though ill peach gives a sonic switch-up that scrubs any of the previous electronic-bombast of previous releases.
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Instead, “HEAVYWEIGHT” arrives as a moving alt-rock ballad that still surges with all the emotional gravitas they’ve been known to imbue in their songs. At its core, the song is an attempt to both voice and cast off the lingering weight that remains after moments of grief and pain. Absent the duo’s more characteristically vibrant anthemics, the song still carries a revitalizing energy that’s owed to its surging and sonorous clamor of riffs — not to mention Corazza’s anguished but uplifting vocals.
“We’re just after making things that can be deeply felt,” Corazza explained. “This one is definitely a gut punch. We wrote it with one of our favorite people to write with, Steph Jones. It might be our personal favorite right now. I think the song has provided all of us with a cathartic release. You have to sit in the heaviness first to reach the joy. And also a good cry.”
True to their word “HEAVYWEIGHT” offers a gripping catharsis. “I’m just tryna keep it light,” Corazza repeats just before the song’s soul-assuaging chorus. “Tryna keep it light.” From heartache to existential angst the song is a reminder that it takes a conscious effort to unburden yourself from the things that weigh on your heart and mind.
The music video for “HEAVYWEIGHT,” directed by Lucy Sandler, takes an emotionally brutalizing and raw look at such moments. Opening with a close-up of Corazza’s eyes that slowly zooms out to reveal her tangled upside down on a sofa, her eyes red and moist with tears. Altogether it’s an eviscerating but honest portrait of the kinds of moments that the song tries to address — another necessary reminder of how lonely and intense such sorrow is in the moment.
“‘Heavyweight’ felt like a big responsibility because it felt like my heart, and I knew it was Jess’ too,” Sandler said. “It was the question of how to spin agony, how to make it gorgeous. How to visually personify accepting that we can’t turn our backs on our intensity, our innate ability to live inside every feeling. For me, it was just about capturing something honest – the coexistence of unbearable pain and the need for lightness. And being ok with them living together in harmony and that being the truth.”
Visit ill peach on their Bandcamp, Twitter, and Instagram to stay updated on new releases and tour announcements.
Word: Steven Ward
Watch the music video for “HEAVYWEIGHT” the new single from ill peach below!
