After establishing an impressive baseline with the restless, anything-goes energy of 2023’s This Is Not An Exit, ill peach shakes off the dreaded sophomore slump and returns with the equally adventurous yet more focused Eavesdropping (Handwritten). The Los Angeles-based trio hasn’t abandoned the genre-hopping impulses that defined its debut. Instead, ill peach has channeled them into songs that feel more cohesive and emotionally direct.
That leap in quality shouldn’t come as surprise. Before fully committing to ill peach, Jess Corazza and Pat Morrissey sharpened their songwriting skills with the likes of SZA, Pharrell Williams, Weezer and Icona Pop. Eavesdropping stakes out a fresh parcel where contradiction, experimentation and emotional honesty coexist without compromise. It’s an album that offsets nostalgia with curiosity, chaos with craft.
In a recent interview with MAGNET’s Hobart Rowland, Corazza and Morrissey shared what they’ve learned from writing for some big names and offer some insight into the creative tension that drives ill peach.
The title of your debut LP suggested restlessness, while Eavesdropping feels more observational and introverted. How do you see the relationship between the two LPs?
Corazza: Our first album felt like an exploration of self, in a way. Sonically, it’s a little all over the place, in my opinion. We were navigating coming together and creating a body of work for the first time, while also figuring out who each of us was individually. This one feels like we’ve landed, so it’s easier to step outside ourselves a little and observe the world around us.
Jess, you have cited the early-2000s New York scene as a major influence, while Pat is constantly chasing new sounds and cultural shifts. How do those opposite instincts shape the way ill peach writes and records?
Corazza: This is probably our biggest battle, but it’s also what pushes each of us to be malleable. And the end results are really cool. I’m honestly not someone who listens to a lot of music. If I do, I tend to lean into that 2000s era. On rare occasions, I’ll find a new band I love, but I try not to inundate myself with sound because it’s so easy to be influenced as a writer. I think that creates an interesting dynamic in the studio. (Guitarist/bassist) Jesse (Schuster) and Pat are similar in the way they navigate the world and how their curiosity works. Pat genuinely gets excited by new information, new cultural shifts and new sounds. It’s a constant exploration for him. I wish I could embody that, but I get fatigued by how many new things are thrown into the world every day. So when we’re building our sonic landscapes, it’s a push-and-pull fight sometimes to find this harmonic balance where all three of us feel heard and feel like we’ve contributed something to the track. On this album, I pushed hard to pull back more.
Eavesdropping is built around overheard conversations, internal monologues and fleeting moments. Were there particular real-life encounters that directly inspired some of the songs?
Corazza: We made a lot of this album in Joshua Tree, Calif., and on one of our breaks we went down to the local watering hole. I think it’s literally just called Joshua Tree Bar. There was this extremely drunk couple trying to break up in a very loud, public way, using the bartender as a mediator. Even though they were breaking up, they were touching each other as if they definitely were not breaking up. The things flying out of their mouths were so insane that I instantly hit record on my phone to capture it. “Crumbs” came from their wacky love story. “All Day I Dream About Sleep” was inspired by the bartender, who seemed exhausted by all the drama but also entertained it because there was nothing else happening in the bar. Working in the service industry and having to act interested in your customers for the sake of tips was something I could really relate to. It brought me back to my serving days, when I experienced that fatigue and that depressed feeling of wondering if I was ever going to get out.
A recurring theme on Eavesdropping is finding comfort without ever fully settling. Is creative discomfort necessary for growth, or have you found ways to make uncertainty feel more natural?
Morrissey: More than anything, boredom is crucial for growth—especially in a creative context. It’s where pure imagination comes from. I think identity—and having your own thoughts, opinions and tastes—has to come from that place. But boredom can be very uncomfortable. And right now, culturally, nobody knows how to navigate boredom. Uncertainty is also a very exciting place to sit. Too much of it is probably bad, but I think it’s where you’re most motivated to take risks. When your back is against the wall, you find yourself making choices you never thought you’d make, and I think great art can come from that.
After two albums, how close is Eavesdropping to capturing what ill peach is supposed to be?
Corazza: I think this is the closest we’ve come to what we originally envisioned, and it’s been really fun exploring and seeing what feels right. It’s interesting putting the three of us together because we all have very different musical tastes. In an ideal world, we’d love to have a clear definition for this project. It’s tough when so much music feels like a blend of genres. I’ve really been loving the bands coming through that are just like, “We’re straight-up punk,” or, “We’re straight-up rock.” That feels tougher for us, but it’s fun to see how other people define us. Sometimes you can be in a vacuum of your own creativity and not really know what you sound like. All we know is the music feels good to us, and the world of ill peach is getting clearer.
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