Perlee

~ Hope Silverman, NYC '23
Perlee is Cormac O’Keeffe & Saramai Leech. They are from County Meath, Ireland, & met through the DIY scene in their town. They were in other bands before they began to collaborate & work as a duo & are currently based in Berlin. Their debut album is called Speaking From Other Rooms & features the esteemed Matt Ingram (Laura Marling) on drums. These statements are all true. But describing Perlee in a strictly factual way feels deceptive. Because they are one of those bands.

Perlee’s self-proclaimed musical influences are Low, Cass McCombs, Beach House, The Blue Nile, Cocteau Twins, Suicide, & Radiohead. These artists don’t have fans; they have eternally devoted, deeply infatuated disciples. Loved-up loyalists who can’t speak about them without first placing an involuntary hand over their hearts and sighing. They are the kind of bands that, from the first time you are exposed to them, set up camp on your heart & never fucking leave.

Perlee are one of those bands.

Following in the footsteps of their fabled forbearers, the Perlee sound is endlessly majestic, alternately rain-making, heartbreaking, whispery, noisy, & occasionally blessedly weird. Their debut album is called Speaking From Other Rooms. It is home to eight perfectly formed songs seamlessly working together to calm, clutch & crush you. The album’s lyrical inspiration population includes 15 baby whales, The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s “Maps”, fruit, unconditional love, isolation, Berlin & you.