The Peripherals – Brotherhood Builds Fantastic Folk Americana Sound

To achieve success as an indie band you must make an attachment to your crowd.  One key in this is having a strong and memorable live show.  When a performance is different from all the other dribble out there it will remain in an audience members mind and they will tell stories of the time that they saw you to other potential new fans, often bringing new friends to future performances.  A crucial element is to make it unique.  We came across a band that seems to be using such noteworthy performances to build themselves a rabid fanbase.  Welcome The Peripherals to our playlist.

The band was formed in San Diego, California in early 2010 by 2 prominent members of the local indie scene.  They did not meet at some underground coffee house show though.  Omar Musisko and Andrew Thams met while serving as volunteer smoke jumpers for the California Brown Bear Rescue Service during the “Great Fire” of Southern California.  Being a firefighter with the FDNY myself, I know how well a brotherly bond can be built while fighting fires.  Being brothers in music can only add to this brotherhood.  Dylan Jones joined the official lineup in January 2012 as the duo needed to add another talented member to play larger venues as their fame was growing exponentially.  Together The Peripherals unique style is a blend of Folk, Indie Rock and Americana heavy on acoustic guitar and songs that tell stories.

Last month The Peripherals released their debut full-length album Declarations on Aural Gravy Records.  The 10 song record will fit well along the Americana folk that has been populating mainstream radio recently.  On ‘The Sweet Unknown’ the band comes together flawlessly presenting a full soundscape of acoustic sound mixed with lyrics that tell a story of growth that leaves the listener waiting on the next verse to see where the story goes.  The band has released a touching video for lead single ‘Baltimore’.  The mellow song goes perfect with the video creating a warm feeling of family.  Enjoy it below:

Other standout songs on the album are the down tempo bluesy ‘If So’ and the fun vocal turmoil of ‘Spun’.  The closing track ‘Cannonballman’  shows off even more talent with the minimalistic vocal storytelling approach of the first minute followed by the powerful melody of the full band joining in on the fun.  Keep up with The Peripherals and give Declarations a listen at:  http://www.theperipherals.com