As soon as you listen to Bunny, the debut EP by People I’ve Met, you instantly recognise why Royel Otis tapped them as tour support last year.
Like Australia’s globetrotting duo, People I’ve Met produce indie rock songs that sound somehow both polished and raw, bringing moody atmosphere and intense emotion to the fore.
“A large part of making this EP was bringing in those sounds that capture the feeling of when the song first took shape. Those parts may not be technically perfect, but the emotion really carries through,” as bassist Andrew Suster recently said.
But who exactly are People I’ve Met?
Suster is joined by drummer Orlando Wiltshire and lead vocalist and guitarist Moses Martin, who comes from fine musical stock: Chris Martin happens to be his father.
Being the son of Coldplay’s frontman and Gwyneth Paltrow undoubtedly helps you get NME write-ups for your band’s first-ever single, not to mention a slot at Reading & Leeds Festival so early in your nascent career, but on the strength of Bunny alone, People I’ve Met are clearly capable of making it in music even without their industry connections.
That’s why Irish band Inhaler springs to mind upon listening to People I’ve Met’s debut EP.
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When Inhaler first rose to prominence in the 2010s, it was initially difficult for frontman Elijah Hewson to escape from under the looming shadow of Bono; following one’s father into the same artistic pursuit is a daunting prospect for any child, let alone when their father is the lead singer of U2.
But Inhaler took their time. They played live show after live show; they tested the waters with a string of singles; they looked to bands like The Strokes and Talking Heads, stylistically much different to U2, for inspiration.
Their reward has been a blossoming career, with Inhaler’s first three studio albums making the top 3 on the UK Albums Chart. Did Inhaler get a leg-up because of their Bono connection? Perhaps. But to doubt or decry their evident standalone quality would be foolhardy.
Inhaler’s career is the perfect example for People I’ve Met to follow.
The three-piece originally began writing and recording together in a garage while still at high school, and those raw beginnings can still be heard in their songs. If the tracks on Bunny are more pristine, the production clearly amped up, the heart and the core — three longtime mates just making music together for the fun of it — remains.
The lovely “Loving One” is the EP’s centrepiece, a track drenched in melancholy, and it’s the closest People I’ve Met come to an early-Coldplay moment on the record.
“Loving One” starts almost as a ballad, before Martin’s ghostly vocals harden and roughen as it rises to its powerful climax. “Please hold me in your arms again / Don’t let this be ‘remember when’,” he sings; it’s a tender line that Royel Otis would be proud to call their own.
The interplay between the trio is admirable throughout the EP. Wiltshire is an intelligent and robust drummer, knowing when to pull back and push forward; Suster flicks a number of memorable bass lines that help drive tracks forward whenever they start to lag; if Martin’s washed-out vocals occasionally threaten to be overwhelmed by the rhythm section, he manages to find a new vocal turn, a more powerful delivery.
“We want our songs to feel like a world you can step into. Something you can get lost in and come back changed,” Martin previously said about the band’s music. Their EP mostly achieves this effect, particularly the enveloping “Loving One”.
Following a celebrity album release show at New York City’s Mercury Lounge last weekend, People I’ve Met will soon travel to England for Reading & Leeds, the biggest platform for the young band to date.
Based on the speedy rate at which they’re currently travelling, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them playing shows in Australia sooner rather than later. The tracks on Bunny are, in a complimentary sense, triple j fodder.
Hottest 100, sometime soon? Patience is required for People I’ve Met: remember the example of Inhaler.
People I’ve Met’s Bunny EP is out now via Interscope Records.
