Vanessa Peters may have sprung to the attention of many with the release of her 2018 album FOXHOLE PRAYERS, but a little delving reveals an artist the veteran of records now totalling double figures in numbers. Additionally, she is a relentless live performer and very much one with an international antennae. An Austin based Texan Italophile is an apt geographical description of her operating status and this is reflected in the recording location and band composition that led to MODERN AGE being the latest offering to an established fanbase.
Peters returns to the realm of original songwriter on this latest album with a sound more in tune with indie-pop/rock sensibility than straight up Americana which she may have dabbled in on previous records. Her most recent output was a covers effort aptly titled MIXTAPE, but the new album is entirely made up of Vanessa Peters solo compositions. To commit these lyrical creations to song, she heavily leans on a conventional set up of guitars, keys and drums. Together they merge into a powerful set of upbeat numbers that possess an inbuilt energy and zestful demeanour. 'Modern Age', the song and lead off track, and 'Crazymaker' are the two songs peeled off for single release promotion and travel a fair distance in defining the album. My personal favourite from the collection is the ravishing 'The Band played On', a song bestowed with anthem-like appeal and a vibrant presence swirling out of the speakers.
A striking pop art cover adds value to an overall package and is likely an effective use of budget to promote a record that has a feel of crossing the ages with a sound that you could quite easily link to numerous points across the last forty years.
Like many albums surfacing in 2021, there is a lockdown tenacity in the resolve to get them made and a perceived determination is easily detected from the high standard fare on offer. Vanessa Peters obviously knows the ropes as equally as her peers who excel in this sound that straddles the genres and MODERN AGE is a record held together by its strength while periodically exploding in a barrage of well-structured indie rock. An album primed for praise within a fanbase and a propensity to reach out in further directions as well.
