The entirely solo made artist ‘OneNamedPeter’ takes on more than most on each endeavour. His stylistic swagger of pop rock with shades of 80s influences draped around makes for immediate earworms across his catalogue. On ‘Hurts’, the Brighton based rocker’s carved out an album that sounds like a ship out of time, a delicate soft rock collection of supple yet endearing pieces that have you constantly hooked and engaged. His fifth album is much more intimate, a deeply personal yet universally relatable record that’s morose and sombre but strangely nostalgic. In stark contrast to his last record, he’s shifted from complete ecstasy to pained agony.
From the onset of ‘Hurts’, Peter employs a heart wrenching cello and a sombre guitar to write what can be best construed as a love letter to pain and what it means to our existence. At the end of the day, pain lets us know that we are alive, that we are in tune with our emotions and that we care about the world around us. There’s nothing worse than apathy, and all the hardships we undergo mould us into the person we are today. The songs also get a lot more broader in their vision and topicality with ‘Throw Me To The Fire’ getting a bit more spiritual and religious in its meaning. Despite not being a terribly religious person, Peter’s vaguely Catholic upbringing left him moved by the idea of being thrown into a hellfire for sinning. On the track, he accepts this punishment, because desire can’t be shamed and if it does, then so be it and let the fire accept it all.
Peter’s vocals are a clear highlight, raw and unfiltered but keenly emotive. The string work he uses throughout the record adds another layer of depth. There’s tragedy, acceptance, and a whole lot in between to make ‘Hurts’ a lot more than just an album of sadness.