Album Review: Creation by The Pierces

The Pierces

The Pierces produce their most chart-friendly offering to date with Creation

Following the success of their breakthrough album You And I, US indie-folk sisters Allison & Catherine Pierce are hoping to return to the top of the UK charts with the release of their new studio album, Creation.

Described as a mix between The Bangles, Stevie Nicks and Lana Del Rey, The Pierces are a sibling duo from Birmingham, Alabama. Their blend of slick folk harmonies and adult alternative textures landed them a record contract with Sony in 2000 but it wasn’t until the release of their breakthrough album You And I in 2011 that the sisters claimed their first hit in the UK, landing into the UK charts at number four and paving the way for a summer of acclaimed festival appearances.

The Pierces CreationCreation is The Pierces fifth studio album and follows the successful gold-selling album You & I released in 2011. The new album features 13 new tracks of love and loss, blending uplifting vocal-harmonies with crisp guitars and soft psychedelic melodies.

The album opens with the title-track Creation, a harmonised, acoustic-pop charmer which instantly grabs you, before swiftly moving into Kings, the duo’s first single from the new album and most chart-friendly offering to date.

I Can Feel plays next, a laid-back ballad with a catchy chorus, followed by Believe In Me, the second single from the album which peaked at #66 in the UK Top 100.

The upbeat Come Alive and Honest Man are certainly worth a listen, two catchy rock/pop tracks that bustle with energy, particularly Honest Man with its Fleetwood-style jams which are a world away from the folkier leanings of You & I.

Creativity shines through on Must Be Something, an achingly beautiful number written by Catherine during her journey of self-discovery and Elements, a weary ballad with beautiful steely harmonies and a soft psychedelic melody.

The standout tracks are Monsters, a brooding address to the misfortunes we make, Confidence In Love, a meticulous soft rock number with exquisitely intertwined voices and The One I Want, a heart aching number with a yearning languor that recalls Stevie Nicks and the young Heart.

The album draws to a close with Flesh and Bone, a slow folk number with a psychedelic melody and eerie vocals.

In a move away from the Gothic Americana sound that gave them their name, Creation is a mature, chart-friendly offering from The Pierces and arguably, their most consummate album to date.

4 out of 5 stars

Creation by The Pierces released on September 1, 2014.