When he’s not rocking in the alt-country band Friendship, Peter Gill is the primary songwriting force of power-pop rock unit 2nd Grade. On their latest, the band seemingly takes The Beach Boys’ “California Girls” and stretches it across an entire record, investigating the unending world of Girls and Boys.
The gods blessed a crowd with a perfectly paired bill on June 1, 2023. 2nd Grade and The Bug Club played at Union Pool in Brooklyn to a receptive audience. Some danced. Some bobbed their heads. Some remained still, with smiling faces., but the audience, indubitably, thoroughly enjoyed their perfectly prepared pairing.
Originally released in 2018, the record was apparently slept on until Double Double Whammy re-released it with new studio recordings by the band, but also included the demos that comprised the first record. Songwriter and bandleader Peter Gill originally recorded all the instruments on it, but the re-release features full band arrangements.
