Peter Barr – ‘Underwater’ & ‘Before All The Trouble’

Each time Peter Barr releases a new record, his sincerity, amazing lyric writing, beautiful uplifting orchestration and bare to the bone soulful voice shine through. His narratives always seem to be extremely philosophical and have a deeper meaning in them that listeners seem to easily understand. Clearly he is awash with new inspiration, and has absorbed it successfully, because it’s hard to recall an artist in recent memory who has revitalized their sound so vibrantly and successfully as Barr does on ‘Underwater’.

There’s a greater focus on full band contributions, seeing Peter Barr’s usual sound fleshed out a lot more for something a bit fuller and a lot more expansive. The participating crew on ‘Underwater’ is made up of Peter Barr (Voice, Drums), Al Macdowell (Bass, Keys, Mix Engineer), Mike Delgado (Guitar), Tasha Mabry (Harmony Voices) and Morgan Zwerlein (Harmony Voice).

‘Underwater’ was also produced by Peter Barr, who being the project’s nucleus, had plenty of room to bend the song exactly the way he wanted it. It’s a gorgeous, almost three minute track that slithers by with a swelling bounciness and heady indie-pop influences. Elevated by its seeming simplicity, even the most subtle of instrumental additions contribute to the richness in sound.

Peter Barr’s mellifluous croon adds just the right amount of poignancy an elegance to an already beautifully arrangement. There is not a single moment on ‘Underwater’ where he sounds anything less than flawless, with a crystalline smoothness to his voice that is unseen in many other artists of his ilk. It’s as evocative and inviting as any buoyant and celestial vocal performance can get. It shows off a plaintive aspect that has you hanging onto every word.

In its lithe, effortlessly brisk nature, ‘Underwater’ manages to truly grip the listener and refuses to let go until it’s finished. Due to all the positive and nostalgic summer beach resonance it manages to pack in, you’ll never want it to let go – it really is that good. “Swim as deep as you can. Save some breath for me. Swim as deep as you can. That’s where you’ll find me,” sings Peter Barr in the opening lines, as he unpacks the effervescent narrative.

Peter Barr is a man of great talents, who has been setting himself up by putting together music that is emotive, relatable, and yet personal. There is no denying that what he writes lyrically empowers and uplifts many others too. It’s interesting to see Barr put forward something that will highly impress any listener who may stumble upon this music. The track shows Peter Barr’s natural flair in writing songs with both a poetic touch and a catchy hook.

‘Underwater’ is an enjoyable song with its upbeat nature and the music itself, which perfectly uses the instrumentation, the momentum pushing rhythm, and the fiery, embellishing guitar solo. There are many things to appreciate on this record – from its fluid, wistful nature in sound, to its passionate storytelling. Peter Barr is a mastermind, when it comes to putting out work that hits close to home for so many people.