Peter Xan - Empty Space

There’s a distinct theme of intoxicated revelry to Peter Xan’s latest EP, ‘Empty Space’; a tracklist boasting the central run of ‘Nicotine’, ‘Opium’, and ‘For The Weekend’ should give a decent clue that the music therein isn’t exactly soft-edged and subtle. The successor to last year’s ‘GOD SAVE THE KING’, it’s a project which builds on Xan’s well-laid foundations (he’s already earned co-signs from guitar music royalty Dan Carey, Grian Chatten and Pete Doherty) and further cements him as the kind of vital new voice that rock institutions like Reading and Leeds would do well to keep a very close eye on. Alongside stadium-sized riffs, Xan’s most striking quality is the space he allows himself to really flex his vocal range: where at points the delivery is biting and visceral (‘Empty Space’), at others it morphs into more of an assured flow (the densely-packed ‘Nicotine’ or jangly ‘Opium’), or even out and out melody (‘For The Weekend’; ‘Twisted’). An East London lad of Nigerian heritage, on ‘Empty Space’ Xan’s trump card is the way he skillfully nods to nostalgia, tapping into the brain-burrowing potency of a near-universal, teenage punk-rock ‘phase’ while simultaneously bringing a fresh perspective to the table.