On their debut release Crossroads & Ghosts (out in February 2023), Pacific Northwest power trio The Peregrine Dives deliver a sharply stylish mix of New-wave and post-punk revival that echoes goth-tinged turn of-the-millennium arena rock while being very much of the moment. Snarled white-knuckle vocals stride vampishly over washed-out wall-to-wall sonics, yet the music breathes and pulses hypnotically. 

The Peregrine Dives are a brand-new band that pulls off the rather neat trick of sounding like seasoned professionals at the peak of their creative prowess – which, in a way, they very much are. Guitar player/vocalist John Lankford, drummer Mark Ogg, and bassist William Skoff are life-long music obsessives that fate chose to bring together at the dawn of the pandemic. A group of Gen-Xers for whom pop music and the stories around it mean just as much as anyone who ever “made it” in the business, Crossroads & Ghosts is immediately engaging and catchy as hell.

Today The Peregrine Dives one of the singles off of Crossroads & Ghosts, “4 Minutes Of Peace.” Lankford says of the single: “When the world is too much, and you have to leave it temporarily, sing this song.  Shout it from the rooftops and let it be your medicine.  When you’re ready to come back, pick up the last verse at reentry.  The Peregrine Dives will be breathless once plans are made to see you, and disarmed at first sight of you again.”  

Thematically, the record tangles with the struggle of following your true path while navigating the obstacles life is constantly putting in the way. “John is such a great lyricist,” says Ogg. “He has a metaphorical and poetic way of pointing out the obvious and yet exploring deeper emotions of personal struggle. That kind of segues to the band name. ‘The Peregrine Dives’ is a statement that represents our sound. I like to think of the Peregrine as an entity. It dives. But before it dives, it must rise. After it dives, it must rise again. Rinse and repeat. Life has peaks and valleys, and to fall is to fail. To dive is to remain in control and recover to be the best version of yourself you can possibly be.”

Songs in hand, the band decamped to Peel Studios in Seattle’s Ballard to track and mix the record.  (“Left on Massard” was recorded at The ChemLab but mixed also at Peel.) They walked out with a record that feels custom fit to soundtrack your daily reality. “I hope this record echoes in the background as our listeners discover for themselves that Life WILL reward action,” says Lankford. “There are friends to make, chances to take, and your greatest days are ahead! When life gets tough, don’t fall, take control, and DIVE!”

Photo Courtesy: Mark Ogg