With her first EP Manic Dream Pixie finally out, TikTok sensation Peach PRC has solidified her place as a vibrant fixture of Australia’s pop music landscape.
In her new release, Peach (born Shaylee Curnow) balances narrative worldbuilding against increasingly bombastic pop synths. Each song on the new record relays a different perspective on love, loss and self-discovery, each to differing levels of success.
The lyrical specificity with which Peach details a lifetime of personal struggles positions her as Australia’s glittery, pink, queer answer to Billie Eilish. Yet the standout on this record is the singer’s vocals, with her ethereal voice floating effortlessly over the lush production.
Peach displays an acute awareness of the manic pixie dream girl tropes that have been placed upon her, reclaiming it as an image of her own design. This is best encapsulated in the album’s cover art which sees the singer laid out as a mystical fairy princess, adorned in her signature pink.
Notably absent from the record are radio hits Josh and God is a Freak, which both placed on Triple J’s Hottest 100 in 2021 and 2022 respectively. None of the tracks here contain the hyper-specific songwriting of their predecessors, but Peach is clearly having plenty of fun with it.
Clocking in at a run time of 17 minutes, Manic Dream Pixie is a flash-in-the-pan sampler for the sounds we can expect on an eventual full-length album.
Check out Queer Honi’s track-by-track review below.
Kinda Famous
The album opener crashes in with a healthy dose of 2000s nostalgia and tongue-in-cheek references to stan culture. The protagonist pines over a D-list celebrity as the song’s production alternates between softly pulsating beats and a bombastic pop-rock chorus. “You don’t know me yet/You’re kinda famous”, the singer chants, both a promise and a threat to the object of her adoration.
Perfect for You
Acting as the EP’s lead single, Perfect for You is the most classically Peach track in the mix. The stop-start melody on the hook is borrowed from Paris Hilton’s 2006 hit Stars are Blind, which Peach directly interpolates on the song’s bridge. Peach’s songwriting skills shine on this track as she details falling in love against the backdrop of a house party. Ever euphorically sapphic, this is the one that will have you jumping on your bed à la Bring It On.
F U Goodbye
F U Goodbye opens with a pulsating baseline reminiscent of Robyn’s Dancing On My Own. It is penned to an ex-lover, who Peach spends the first verse goading into a false sense of security, “If you still think of me/I’d love to meet for coffee.” By the time the first chorus is over, it’s clear that Peach’s intentions are not to rekindle their relationship but to excommunicate her ex altogether. The song is a great representation of Peach’s unique brand of humour, which is most biting in the verse “And by the way, I caught up with your ex/We shared regrets and most of them were sex (with you!)”.
Loved You Before
A continuation of Peach’s goofy candour, Loved You Before, describes scenes across history and lifetimes where she and her lover continuously rediscover one another. From dinosaurs to medieval times and beyond, there is enough imagery embedded in the lyrics to inspire an extremely campy green-screen music video. At best, however, Loved You Before is an inoffensive filler track, and at worst, it’s Peach’s attempt to weigh in on the “would you still love me if I was a worm” discourse (her answer is yes).
Favourite Person
Favourite Person is one of a few tracks that Peach has been teasing at live shows over the last year. Her voice is notably unprocessed over the mid-tempo pop-rock instrumental, allowing listeners a rare taste of the singer’s naturally husky lower register. This rawness is made more apparent by Peach’s revelation that the song “interestingly was an apology song to Josh, after I wrote Josh.” A welcome deviation from the EP’s glittery dance pop, Favourite Person will undoubtedly be the belt-along moment on Peach’s upcoming tour.
Dear Inner Child
This vocoder-soaked track is a love letter to Peach’s younger self. The singer reflects on moments of trauma throughout her childhood with a 2023 lens. “So if you wanna wear pink, I’ll wear it for you,” she affirms in a moment of self-healing. Of all the songs on the EP, this is the one that feels as though only Peach could have released it (and the only track where she is the solo credited writer). At the two and a half minute mark, “Dear Inner Child” ends abruptly, leaving listeners wanting more from the vibrant singer, whose story has only just begun.