The Easy Peelers at Moles: Live Powerhouses Celebrated Their New Indie Rock Direction in Delicious Form

The Easy Peelers are a band whose vibrant character cannot be contained by a stage: infectious energy, catchy melodies and bursting with spirit. The Peelers, as they are affectionately dubbed (mainly to those, like me, too lazy to say their full name) are definitely best witnessed on a night like this, where you can be guaranteed a free sticker, or seven, and an absolutely killer show.

For those not in the know, The Easy Peelers’ are the band that you see featured on stickers plastered on almost any bus stop in Bath, a live outfit made up of four talented (and genuinely lovely) musicians, whose energy and obvious passion for performance reverberates throughout the room. The band boasts prolific rock drummer Mia Holmes, bass master Joe Spragg, playful lead guitarist Troy Krivacska and effervescent frontman Jake McGregor. Collectively they certainly know how to whip up a crowd.

Set at well-loved, cult classic Bath venue Moles, the Peelers headline was hosted by fledgling promotion company Ease Events, and the combination of these entities seems to have been something of a perfect storm.

The top room greeted you with local creative Ebonie Thompson selling handmade earrings in the shape of mini easy peelers (yes, I mean the oranges and not that she’d handcrafted mini band figurines, although maybe that’s an idea for next time). Downstairs welcomed you into what might as well have been the inside of Jake McGregor’s head – a band logo banner big enough to cover the space twice over, orange chiffon and an orange slices garland just to nail the point home. Paired alongside the tantalising promise of live artwork from local artist ‘San’ and washed down with a customised drinks menu, it was truly the most personalisation of a venue I’d ever seen for a gig, creating something wholly theirs.

Opening strong with a new song whose chorus leant heavy into that classic rock distortion, The Peelers’ arrived with glorious new punch. Their ability to keep such command of the audience even through a set comprised of almost entirely new material is truly impressive, and speaks to their sparkling stage presence – and the undeniable energy of the new songs.

But this isn’t just rock for the sake of making noise. You can tell from the melding of lyrical quality and anthemic sensibility that McGregor has grown up on a diet of Fleetwood Mac and early 80s pop giants like Yazoo, bringing a larger than life flair to toplines that you can’t help but sing along to, without ever scrimping out on clever and often heartfelt lyricism.

The beauty of the new tracks lies in the space for each member to shine, with the songs sitting perfectly for Jake’s unique vocal tone, celebrating Joe’s exceptional bass chops and letting Mia captivate, leaning into her rock musicality to drive the show with remarkable command. A stand out part of the charm of a Peelers gig is watching lead guitarist Troy get absolutely lost in his own zestful riffs (if you’ll mind the citrus pun), animated with joyful disregard.

Some highlights for me throughout the night were:

Indie styled “Stuck In A Tree”, a rare departure from behind the guitar for Jake, and giving him a fantastic opportunity to take full advantage of his stage presence mastery
Rascal Flatts’ iconic ‘Life is a Highway’, the perfect choice of a cover that rings with playful energy; I’ve never seen an audience react to a cover with quite so much excitement
The well-welcomed return of crowd favourite “Sudocrem”, their spritely 2022 single bursting with head bopping satisfaction
Having to duck in mild fear due to the Peeler themed inflatable beach ball pinging its way across the crowd

They closed out the show with a brilliant encore of what is my personal favourite track of theirs, sweeping rock ballad “Playtime’s Over”, drums driving towards a magnificent close of what was a stand out headline.

Overall, I think that this clearly meticulously planned show was the best way to reintroduce the Peelers to their hometown crowd, returning a more confident, amps turned up kind of band. Somehow more orange and vibrant than ever, The Easy Peelers have kept a firm grasp on the elements that make them who they are: genuinely brilliant songwriting, captivating energy, and their unique sense of fun. If you get the chance to see them, you absolutely should.