Listen: Palm - "Composite"

photo by Dylan Pearce

While much of the new material from Philly experimental rockers Palm has been an embracing of the pop element that fuels much of their complex, rhythmic math pop, the quartet certainly haven't forgotten the angular guitars that characterized much of their earlier work nor the bits and blasts of noise they peppered throughout Trading Basics or Ostrich Vacation. "Composite", the latest single from Palm's upcoming sophomore album Rock Island, lands on a sound that's inline with previous Rock Island cuts while recalling the rough-hewn instrumental work of Trading Basics that the band began to lean away from on last year's Shadow Expert EP.

From the start, Palm have always been an incredibly technically precise band but Shadow Expert saw the band adding a layer of polish to that precision as the band sought to marry pop conventions with their off-kilter song structures and aversion to common time. Made up of a skipping stone guitar riffs, "Composite" is simultaneously a buoyant romp and quick-paced shuffle through a kaleidoscopic musical tapestry. Despite it's various shifting sections, Palm manage to thread rhythmic fixtures - like their tumbling guitar riffs and its later echo in the drums. "Composite" sees the band approach the song's change-ups with a pretty casual glide: there's no lead up or hinting just a sudden switch handled with remarkably smoothness as the band continues on like nothing ever happened. And yet, it's hardly one musical idea completely abandoned for a new one, as the two sections are connected through similar though not entirely congruent rhythms before the new section shifts yet again to recall the first part in its coda.

Palm are excellent songsmiths and "Composite" is a perfect display of that as skittering guitars give way to shuffling drums, tempos surge and change course all without revealing where it'll end up. Palm are effortless able to contort their sound in a variety of ways that push their sound forward while still very much fitting into their expanding character. With Rock Island out in little more than a week, it thankfully won't be too long before listeners get to experience what else the band have up their sleeve. With such varying singles as "Pearly", "Dogmilk", and "Composite", it's really anyone's guess what the album will sound like as whole but if there's one thing fans can be certain of it's that it will be as unpredictable as it is good. 

Palm's sophomore full length record Rock Island is out February 9th on Carpark Records. You can order the record here.

Watch: Palm - "Dog Milk"

With their sophomore full length record Rock Island set to release on Carpark Records in a little over a month, Philly math pop quartet Palm have released a music video for second single/album standout "Dog Milk". Directed by Richard Phillip Smith and Daniel Patrick Brennan, the band take a break from their normal psychedelic visuals with clearer if not exactly more coherently assembled footage. Featuring band performances as well as shots of a multitude of zoo creatures and candid captured shots of people in the wilds of the city, Palm still let some of their trademark quirk shine through.

The open air shots of the band are perfectly in line with the expansiveness of the track and the occasionally glitchy repetitive edits performed by Richard Phillip Smith are fit the stutter-stop percussion that gives the track its off-kilter lilt. A lot of what makes Palm such a great band is their ability to stack various moving parts on top of each other in a way that doesn't diminish the importance of any particular part - even as the band finds new sounds and instruments to feed into their growing textural vocabulary and Richard Phillip Smith's edits often highlight those particular moments like the wave of princess wand cuing a counter-melodic riff. Palms songs often play fast and loose with the concept of narratives in general and the video for "Dog Milk" operates on a similar plane: a series of images ranging from the interesting to the mundane all by themselves, edited together to create a lasting feeling that aligns very much with the song itself.



Palm's sophomore full length record Rock Island is out February 9th on Carpark Records. Pre-order is available now.

Listen: Palm - "Dog Milk"

Although the bulk of Philly based rock pop experimentalists Palm's ouevre relies on the interplay not only between guitarist/vocalists Kasra Kurt and Eve Alpert but all four members of the band in general, "Dog Milk", the second single from Palm's upcoming sophomore full length Rock Island, takes the method to its compositional and technical climax as Alpert complements Kurt's lead vocals with both melodic and rhythmic asides.

Album opener and first single "Pearly" introduced fans to Palm's new experiments with electronics and synths and "Dog Milk" continues right along in that regard as drummer Hugo Stanley joins in with Kurt's MIDI triggering as well as accompanying his already pretty full-bodied percussion with electronically prepped drum beats. Though the band has accessed a broader range of sounds mainly through the use of effects pedals, the band's use of electronic further blurs the already hard-to-believe multitude of sounds the band are able to pull from their instruments.

There's been no shortage of experimentation in Palm's short but notable history as rock experimentalists and yet still "Dog Milk" serves as an incredible combination both of the band's far more recent leaning into their pop sensibilities as well as the insertion of electronic elements into their songs. It's a perfect storm of their incredibly engaging technical pop rooted in their mathy dressings as the band continue to pave their own way with increasing original takes on genre bending rock music. The occasional harsh abrasiveness of their debut full length Trading Basics has given way to much more tuneful efforts in their Shadow Expert EP and "Dog Milk" proves that there's still plenty of room to explore in this more accessible sound as the band create an incredibly full track that expands their textural palette in exciting new directions while also incorporating elements of what makes Palm such an interesting band to listen to: namely their technical precision and propensity towards rhythmic complexity.

"Dog Milk" might be Palm's poppiest track to date but it is also their most subversive as the band complicate would-be descriptors even further. Palm have never been a band easily described by labels but "Dog Milk" and Rock Island are shaping up to trip up longtime fans as they explore new creative avenue and jerry-rig an impressively pleasant brand of Frankenstein-ed guitar pop that borrows elements from all manner of music to bold establish itself as wholly separate. It bodes especially well not only for their eagerly anticipated sophomore record but also for the foursomes continued creative output.



Palm's full length sophomore album Rock Island is out February 9th on Carpark Records. Pre-order available now.

Listen: Palm - "Pearly"

While Philly based rock pop experimentalists Palm released their Shadow Expert EP earlier this year, they've already had the follow up to both it and debut full length record Trading Basics firmly prepped. So much so that fans of theirs who caught them on their most recent tour promoting the EP heard many of these new songs. "Pearly", the album opening track and first single from their upcoming record Rock Island, essentially bridges the gap between Shadow Expert and this new record, in that while it features the quartet's trademark complexity - both in rhythmic figures and time signatures, it keeps in line with much of Shadow Expert in dulling much of the harsh, abrasiveness of Trading Basics.

"Pearly" also finds the band introducing new elements to their already multitudinous layers - namely in the addition of synths. Guitarists Kasra Kurt and Eve Alpert have largely experimented with the expectation of guitar sounds in the pursuit of their mathematical art-pop so much so that you're not entirely sure the synth sound isn't just a guitar run through some cool effect. But outside of Palm, Kurt has been experimenting with electronics (as evidenced by his split Nino Tomorrow with Ada Babar released late last month) and that experimentation has found its way into Palm. Even with the addition, the synths are treated as more of another color to paint with instead of point of primary focus especially as Kurt essentially sets and forgets the synth sample and accompanies Alpert in their trademark angular guitar interplay.

"Pearly" is wonderfully dreamy - featuring Alpert as the lead singer as she spins lyrics at once fragmented and mysterious: "I can feel elimination coming/what to do, I look around at nothing" Alpert begins and the existential crisis contained therein is at odds both with the collected calm of Alpert's delivery as well as Palm's buoyant accompaniment. 

But Palm have always been a band of contradictions and duality, and "Pearly" is no different. It's a song of complements as vocals operate both in the more textural sense Palm have always regarded them as well as giving an indication of what "Pearly" is about. But Palm don't make it easy and the lyrics are playfully tossed and turned in the wave-like lilt of Palm's unexpectedly smooth instrumentation. Where Palm might normally infuse jolts of energy through the use of jagged guitars or a rush of harsh noise, the differing element lies in Alpert's vocals which rise to climatic sighs.



Palm's sophomore full length record Rock Island is out February 9th on Carpark Records.

Palm - Shadow Expert EP (2017)

Through their rather short but somewhat noteworthy career Philly four piece Palm have crafted an oddly accessible though certainly off-kilter brand of noise pop. Since their inception at Bard College, the foursome have pushed themselves to explore new sounds and tonal dialogues that meant for fans of the band, you'd often hear a song once and then maybe never again or have to wait several months if not years become you could actually own it. The Shadow Expert EP is their latest release, following an absolutely full length debut Trading Basics.

While first single "Walkie Talkie" gives the impression with its ramshackle jangle that Palm are up to their old tricks, as the EP proceeds there's a growing persistence of melodic coherence. Not that Palm have ever suffered from a lack of coherence in the past but it's hard to imagine a song like the eponymous "Shadow Expert", with its clean, straightforward flow existing on Palm's Trading Basics. But Palm haven't left either their angular guitar lines or their complex, interwoven dynamic or their intricate, atypical rhythms behind. Rather Shadow Expert seems to explore the band dynamic on the most basic of levels by dialing down the fuzz.

Guitarists Eve Alpert and Kasra Kurt are locked in a dance that's not wholly unlike a changing bird formation. Where Kurt might take the lead with Alpert adding in little noisy flourishes, they're capable to shifting roles in an instant. That same sense of impermanence follows along in the vocal lines. One of the most delightful things about Palm's Shadow Expert EP is how fluid the whole thing feels. Buoying melodies and shifting figures both melodic and rhythmic give the sense that you're not entirely on solid ground. What's more, the EP progresses from harsh sounds to clean math pop right back to into harsher realms almost effortlessly. While Palm lean into their more pop sensibilities on the EP, there's a pervasive sense that noise is going to overtake everything laps at the sides of Palm's jangly art pop like oceans waves with varying intensity until "Sign To Signal" where it's presence is such a integral part of what makes it flow.

Given their constant pursuit of new and interesting sounds there's no telling if Shadow Expert is the kind of pop that Palm have been striving for or if it's merely a pitstop but it's an absolutely incredible entry into a diversifying catalogue that plays to their strengths while also exploring and establishing new ones.

Palm's Shadow Expert EP is out now on Carpark Records.
 

Listen: Palm - "Shadow Expert"

While Philly experimental rockers Palm introduced listeners to their upcoming Shadow Expert EP with lead single/opening track "Walkie Talkie", their latest, the title track "Shadow Expert" might be more representative of what the band is trying to achieve on this EP. It is easily their most accessible track thus far. Where "Walkie Talkie" paired their memorable melodies with abrasive blasts and disorienting tonal shifts, "Shadow Expert" is a much more straight forward affair. But despite it's pop designs, the foursome still revel not only in their engaging interplay but also in their pretty characteristic rhythmic complexity. Running her vocals through effects, "Shadow Expert" is a lilting piece of slightly off-kilter pop that even in its simple route to the finish, doesn't quite let you get there surefooted. There's always a sense that something might occur at any moment; the listener ready for whatever may happen, never quite expecting what's to come. Though the band maintains a coherent clarity, the song's relentless buoying recalls the lapping of ocean waves and the band's locked in grooves direct the song's momentum similarly. 

"Shadow Expert" in its consistent melodic clarity harks back to the band's earlier days of music-making to songs like "No Tribute" which effortlessly balanced atypical rhythms with ear-catching songcraft. Obviously the band are pushing their sound forward but it feels not unlike a momentary check in with a younger version of themselves to find that some interests still remain and updating them to correlate with newer interests. "Shadow Expert" is the best of both worlds: Palm at their most infectious but never quite giving a sense of predictability nor simplicity and it's a surprisingly good sound for the band. "Walkie Talkie" and "Shadow Expert" essentially show the Palm is capable of great versatility and pairs together opposites in a way that's not only coherent but also incredibly exhilarating.



Palm's upcoming Shadow Expert EP is out June 16th on Carpark Records. You can pre-order it now.

Listen: Palm - "Walkie Talkie"

Philly based experimental foursome Palm are among one of my favorite bands making music today for a host of reasons. Arguably the most reoccurring is the band's ability to metamorphose. While the space between their records is never that extreme, there's always the sense not only that they're at least a record ahead of their most recent output but that they're constant pursuing new and exciting sounds in a way that really invests the listener. The Palm captured on their upcoming Shadow Expert EP is at a drastically different place sonically than they were on their first EPs despite a time difference of only a couple years.

"Walkie Talkie", the first single from Shadow Expert, is easily one of the band's shortest tracks and still they manage to jam-pack it with a variety of tonal shifts. Its intro is simultaneously sparse and aggressive; heaviness building and then evaporating to clear the way for guitarists Kasra Kurt and Eve Alpert's continuous melodic baton passing. Their guitars interweave effortlessly despite not only the complexity of the rhythms but the shifting meter. The band are relentlessly locked in moving as a unit much like a flock of migratory birds even as the band purposefully vaults into moments of harsh disharmony. "Walkie Talkie" is characterized by these harrowing moments of musical daredevilry; pairing the complicated mathematics with pure borderline pop melodic songcraft. It's a song constantly at odds with itself shifting through various shapes and colors and deploying each member as a part of its array of timbres. That's more or less always been Palm's m.o. but "Walkie Talkie" and Shadow Expert the band show that foreknowledge doesn't dull the impressiveness of their musical feats and that there's plenty of room for them to experiment and grow in a sound that's already intensely experimental. That unpredictability is Palm's greatest strength and singlehandedly stokes the fire of anticipation for new music. Luckily for fans and new listeners alike Palm are always quite ahead of themselves.

Listen to "Walkie Talkie" from Palm's upcoming Shadow Expert EP out June 16th on Carpark Records. You can pre-order the EP now and also catch them on an extensive North American tour with Palberta supporting the EP. Tour dates here.

All Around Sound Is Turning Six! Day 1: Palm

Whether you're new to this here blog or you've been following for years, you may or may not know that this year All Around Sound is entering its sixth year of operation. While it doesn't have that sweet milestone feel like 5 or 10, any additional year of a blog running is pretty special. And so All Around Sound is turning six and like last year's milestone fifth year and the many years before it, I've sought fit to ring in the occasion with our annual celebratory mix swap.

I met Palm like I do most bands - completely by chance at a show while they opened up for the band I originally went to see. In this case I was lured to the BSP Lounge in Kingston by the mighty Buke & Gase almost two years ago now and Palm happened to be one of the two bands that were selected to open for them that night and unlike the other opener Celestial Shore I hadn't seen them much less even heard of them before that night. What followed was an explosion of technical but enjoyable noise rock. The fact that they were apparently playing all new songs that they hadn't even committed to recording yet while selling a cassette featuring older stuff pretty much sealed the deal on them and ensured that I went to see them every opportunity I had until they finally released their brilliant debut album Trading Basics last year.

When I set about brainstorming this year's contributors for All Around Sound's birthday, Palm seemed a natural choice if only to satiate my curiosity about what kind of music this kind of dynamic band listens to. When on stage, they're ferocious, wildly chaotic but impressively precise. Offstage, they're incredibly nice and delightfully fun. What do people like that even listen to in their down time? I asked and thankfully Palm delivered.

Listen to Palm's mix:













Due to not all of Palm's picks being available everywhere I've included their original tracklist in case you want to preserve the mixes continuity and listen to it in its original form.

Tom Dissevelt - "Orbit Aurora"
Nelson Angelo e Joyce - "Um Gosto De Fruta"
Skeeter Davis - "My Last Date"
DJ Rashad - "Ghost"
DJ Nigga-Fox - "Um Ano"
Micachu & The Shapes - "Sea Air"
Julio Bashmore - "Knockin' Boots"
R. Stevie Moore - "Don't Let Me Go To The Dogs"
Gary Numan - "Films"
CE Schneider Topical - "Something To Eat"
The Cradle - "In Your Hands"
Cooper Burton - "Ha Ha (Uh Huh)"
Every Kim Parcell - "Hard Moon"
Hank Wood & The Hammerheads - "I Thought I Was A Good Man"
Yellow Magic Orchestra - "Firecracker"
Gary Wilson - "Groovy Girls Make Love At The Beach"

Thanks so much to Palm for contributing this year AND if for some reason you haven't listened to them, I strongly recommend you get on that. Seriously. Here's a link to Trading Basics. Go. Listen to it and thank me later.