All Hail Peej: the King of Bedroom Yearners and Glorious Mustaches

While there isn't a shortage of fully independent musicians engineering entire albums within the confines of their bedrooms, there are only a few that fall within my musical wheelhouse. The mustachioed crooning of Paulo Alampay, mononymously known as Peej, first caught our ears with his raw renditions of Matt Duncan's "Beacon," Mitski's "My Love, Mine All Mine," and his breakout track "I Should've Kissed Then."

He put out his debut bedroom pop LP King of Sadtown last month and is coming off the heels of a stellar live solo show on March 13, where he brought all the tunes to life with his band. The self-proclaimed monarch of Sadtown says the moniker stuck after his friend called him the prince of sad boy music.

ALSO READ:

No Skips: A Track-By-Track Review of IV of Spades' Comeback Album Andalucia

Why You Should Be Listening to Mk.gee and His Guitar Wizardry

"Each song kind of contributes to certain behaviors, certain instances that led me to being this King of Sad Town," he told Esquire Philippines in an interview. "I write about it as my personal diary. And sometimes I'll be a bit insecure about publishing it. I don't want people to know these inner thoughts of mine."

Even after knocking it out of the park with a set that was nearly an hour long, he doesn't see himself going out and grinding the live shows and will always go back to marinating ideas in his bedroom.

"I never really intend to make something for the sake of, oh, it's catchy. It just so happens that came out," the alternative artist said, after being asked about the accessibility of his track "She Likes to Dance" on the album.

Peej playing at his King of Sadtown Album Launch

The mustachioed maestro's listening habits and references involve copious amounts of the dream-poppy, psychedelic sounds of Still Woozy, the dreamy harmonies of Matt Maltese, and the indie telephone lo-fi sensibilities of TV Girl and Mac DeMarco. He is also a huge Incubus and The National enjoyer. Immersing in King of Sadtown, you can definitely hear the melancholy, regret, and infatuation Peej is trying to evoke here. The album's opener, "Same Mistakes," which was a single Peej dropped two years earlier, sets the catchy, tongue-in-cheek tone that makes it hard not to hum along to.

His saxophone chops and the subtle addition of xylophone pads are the little things that shake up the indie bedroom pop template Peej unabashedly celebrates in his artistry. The independent musician's endeavor is always highlighted by trying stuff out in the mix by throwing in audio stems that sound like mistakes, the same mistakes again. He's a big fan of keeping things simple with two to four chords per song, while keeping things compelling through the intensity and performance of the arrangement.

"She Likes to Dance" is the scorcher of the record that serves as the quintessential Peej indie pop song. This is where it's at with our innate male desire to yearn, and he hits the nail on the head here. A cowboy-like guitar lead and euphoric build-up to the "and she likes to dance like nobody's watching" is what makes the track special and is a showcase of Peej's knack for capturing our hopeless delusions. It was also one of the most meteoric moments in his set that made us want to pop a vinyl on our turntables and aimlessly stare at furniture in melancholy. We are formally requesting physical Peej vinyl records.

While "She Likes to Dance" and his most radio-friendly cut "Islands" are his most accessible songs, Peej notes that these were made quite casually in the lyrical sense. "I Broke My Heart" is another standout sadboy ballad with a tinge of sax magic and the potential for truly depressing sad first dances in high schools everywhere.

Peej and his band

This is a genuine anthem for the losing dogs and the yearners everywhere with the universal experience of unrequited love for the "torpe" male Filipino. "Sometimes I kind of put myself in other people's perspective, or how they might feel. I'll heavily exaggerate the story for the song," the former closeted musician reflected. "I'll just start singing random words until maybe there's a melody. And I'll be like, oh, I like that melody. Let me find words to go along with that."

When we got Peej to demystify his songwriting process, as we try to do every time we meet these exceptional and simultaneously relatable people, it really makes you think about how much character development plays into creation.

Imagine if Peej never put out his covers, or even picked up a guitar. He would have never been anointed the burgeoning monarch of the town we unknowingly live in. "Each song kind of contributes to certain behaviors, certain instances that led me to being this King of Sad Town," according to the singer-songwriter.

We talked about Peej steering clear so far from his own deeply personal performances. "Sad Love Song" and the corresponding "Reimagined" version at the tail end of the record are deeply personal performances from him both sonically and lyrically.

The baseline version puts front and center the hard-to-miss charm being pulled off here with an easy-to-follow drum beat, marbly lead guitar work, and the devotional "I adore yous" with minimal vocal layering sprinkled over Peej's emotional crooning. An album's title track is usually an interlude of sorts or the overarching theme of the record. "King of Sadtown" falls under the second variation of title tracks. It is an endearing, laid-back track that isn't afraid to get goofy with metaphors and doubles down on the boyish take on loneliness.

"These Walls" is also Peej at the height of his powers of infallible relatability, with lyrics about stacking up walls around the very vulnerability he excels in snagging resonance with.

Peej might be the only one living in this so-called kingdom where he doesn't need anyone. But there is that massive market of vulnerability he is bound to harness.

Same Mistakes, Peej's opening salvo to his debut album

Going outside the music wrinkle of himself, the paper-mache crown-sporting Peej is also a visual artist, videographer, and a disciple of rolling in the mats of his local jiu-jitsu gyms and competitions. He described his art to us as hollow, distorted, and "a bit scary, to some people." A jarring tidbit considering he made the cheerful King of Sadtown album art himself, which was a process that was painstakingly detailed and made use of a real paper-mache crown (which he still has in storage). "I've always wanted everything I've put out to not be touched by anyone else's hands," Peej clarified why he always did everything himself. "I'm really just content with producing stuff at home and releasing."

READ MORE:

Pixies' Joey Santiago Talks About Vinyl Digging, Songs as Filipino Food, and What He Thinks of Geese

IV of Spades' Andalucia Tour is Coming to a City Near You and You Should Get Tickets