Two years ago, a young Palm Reader released Bad Weather, an album full of pounding unadulterated noise. It was intense and somewhat overlooked by the critics and at the time that seemed unfair. But now, on the release of their second album, Beside The Ones We Love, it is semi-understandable as to why Bad Weather wasn't showered in praise. In the two years since, it appears that Palm Reader have tailored their sound and worked on it to create music that has gone from being relentlessly noisy to being relentlessly loud and it is this subtle but very clever transition that make the newest album very important.
In the previously released quartet of teaser tracks (I Watch The Fire Chase My Tongue, By The Ground, We're Defined, Sing Out, Survivor and Stacks) it has already been evident that the boys are now making music with some form of melody and structure rather than just a messy web of noise. And it is in these tracks we also see the messages within their music becoming more serious and important. All four of these tracks have been unashamedly praised and the lovely thing about this is that, they're not even the best tracks on the album. Pedant is an incredible wall of thumping aggression and even in the more tender moments of Travelled Paths, the aggression and passion is available in abundance. There's a lot of fast and furious riffs and heavy breakdowns, especially in the likes of Resolution and then there is the relentless album closer Unabridged. Nearing the 8 minute mark, it is a song not to be messed with as it has it all: it cuddles you in and then shakes you up and spins you around before putting you to rest again and it feels epic.
Beside The Ones We Love feels like the future of metal. It is loud and brash but it is full of message and purpose and it is evidence of why Palm Reader are so highly praised as the next big thing.
8/10
Listen to: Sing Out, Survivor, Pedant
No comments:
Post a Comment