PEROUX were a British band trying to etch out a career in the wimpwire / melodic hard rock scene during the late 80’s. Promoted and recommended by Shy (Tony Mills band), along with the likes of After Hours, Briar, Midnight Blue, Moritz, etc, were among a bunch of bands hovering in the 2nd division without getting the big break. From London, the band no doubt saw the success of other British exports all signed to major labels at the time, as Virginia Wolf, FM or Shy itself. A crime, because “Wheels Keep Turnin´” is a great miniLP.

Talking about FM, Peroux’s style / sound is a mixture of them with some american AOR rock acts. Starting out with “Summertime Memories”, this one is very American sounding, not unlike FM on their ‘Indiscreet’ album. Very nice fluffy keyboards and a feel-good vibe. Nick Simmons has warm vocals, very british. “Midnight Princess” is an extremely melodic semi-midtempo where the guitars are noticeably down in the mix to give more room to the harmonies. This is a great tune with all the ’80s atmosphere. Just love the title track “Wheels Keep Turnin´”. This is the kind of keyboard-driven AOR I die for. Killer pre-chorus (awesome) and dreamy main chorus on this one. The guitar/keys middle-section instrumentation is simply wonderful.  Last track “Susannah” is definitely americanized, in sound and style, reminding you great US bands of the mid eighties.

“Wheels Keep Turnin´” is a beautiful 4-track mini-LP from a band who deserved better luck. Keyboards are really predominant on this recording, not strange because it is produced by Procul Harum keyboarder Mathew Fisher, and one of the founder members Matt Haslett used to play ivory on another UK group; Snowblind. https://melodic-hardrock.com/peroux-wheels-keep-turnin-1988/