EASY RIDER
posted in: Artist Features • Music News • Pop • Rock
Sittin' Pretty: Philadelphia's Viv Peyrat
James Dean”ageless dreamboat, immortal rebel. If you’re gonna channel someone, you may as well aim high.
Viv Peyrat does so in his song, So James Dean. And though the 22-year-old singer-guitarist may share some of Dean’s rebel allure, he also begs more contemporary comparisons: Jeff Buckley for looks, and Jason Mraz for musical sensibility.
Peyrat, a Philadelphian by way of France, mixes pop with R&B, funk and blues, sometimes organically, sometimes with the amps turned up. Like Mraz, his singing is insouciant and breezy; with lyrics revealing a pure heart and a positive mind. Though most songs may shuffle along at an unhurried pace, they’re still driven by hooks”lots of them. So James Dean is a lackadaisical little melody, brightened by an organ and Peyrat’s pretty arpeggios. But Mine Tonight inches closer to pop rock”reverberating guitars pulse and break into an anthemic chorus:
We can ride out in the sunset / We can walk right out the door / We can fly up to the stars/ I’ll leave you running back for more. To all the Natalie Woods out there, this rebel promises a pretty sweet ride.
