Mix 3/5 of Isis (Aaron Harris, Jeff Caxide, and Clifford Meyer) with the dream-scream vocals of Deftones frontman Chino Moreno, and it sounds eerily similar to how you might expect.
This is the first self-titled release by Palms, put out by Ipecac records. The first track, “Future Warrior,” starts the album off well. It comes in bit mathy on the drums, but is immediately very atmospheric on guitars, and damn groovy for what it is. It’s like you can picture each member smiling, eyes closed, rocking back and forth as they pump out sweet tunes truly meant for astronauts - or those who want to feel like they are. Chino comes in with soft vocals, chiming on, and soon begins scattered screams. It’s similar to Deftones, but less like choking on knives and more like watching a meteor shower stoned. He can hit a hell of a note when he wants to.
Their music is spacey to say the least. “Theres a hole in space, where your demons wait” Chino sings as “Patagonia,” breaks into full swing. It’ s a creepy song when you study the lyrics, and that’s awesome because the mood of the song wouldn't be complete without them. I can’t imagine different vocals, and the fact that the lyrics relate to the music makes it all work well. “Patagonia” as well as the next track “Mission Sunset,” shows Palms have mastered groove. This is obvious, as they have the rhythm section of Isis, but with Palms you just can’t help but nod your head along to the smooth, slow jams. “Mission Sunset” is a whopping 10 minutes, and continues to follow the noticeably awesome trend of crescendos and decrescendos.
“Tropics” was the song I heard when I first heard that Palms was a thing, and it’s still my favorite track. Talk about dreamy, this song makes you feel like you’re floating amongst planets. It’s calming riffs and the genius of Harris’s minimalist drums eventually transform into a beast of a song, leaving you with chills when it ends.
The last song ends the album on a poor note, its boring, and doesn't speak to the rest of the album. It's not a bad song, but an album of this magnitude needs something to help the audiance, as Chino yells on "Future Warrior", remember.
The last song ends the album on a poor note, its boring, and doesn't speak to the rest of the album. It's not a bad song, but an album of this magnitude needs something to help the audiance, as Chino yells on "Future Warrior", remember.
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