Peter Archer, co-founder, guitarist, and vocalist for the Australian band Crow, has died.
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The band announced the sad news in a statement on Facebook on May 18, revealing that Archer had passed away on May 14.
“Our deepest sympathy and love to his family and friends,” the statement read. “A founding Crow member, Peter’s indelible creativity was at once intuitive and adventurous.”
The band highlighted Archer’s musical contributions, pointing out that his “undeniable” beauty, scope, and originality in songs like “the lilting frailty of Paper Eyes, to the sun-drenched lyricism of Railhead.” They also remembered his personal qualities, noting how his “humour, generosity and kindness imbued everything we shared.”
“Being alongside him in ‘white knuckle’ moments was hypnotic,” the band added, giving a hat tip to his intense musical passages. “Peter, we will carry the torch of your unique legacy, always. Buoyed by the one desire to see you again. With eternal love, your brothers in song: Peter, Jim, and Andy.”
The 61-year-old’s cause of death wasn’t provided.
Peter Archer’s Death Follows Crow’s First Album in 15 Years
According to Australia’s The Music Network, Archer’s death comes after Crow’s recent announcement of their first album in over 15 years, Hold Sway. The band promoted the album with the lead single “You Can’t Turn Away” in March.
In the 1990s, Crow released three acclaimed albums: My Kind of Pain (1993), Li-lo-ing (1995), and Play with Love (1998). Juice Magazine even hailed them in the early ’90s as “the best band in Australia since The Birthday Party.”
The band’s debut album, My Kind of Pain, garnered considerable attention, leading to support slots for acts like Nirvana, Pavement, and Nick Cave. Crow’s last album, Arcane, was released in 2010.
Just last month, in preparation for their comeback album, Crow returned to the live music circuit, playing a couple of rare shows in Melbourne.