By: Matt Fitton
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 24/6/2013
Label: Ipecac Recordings
Date Released: 24/6/2013
Label: Ipecac Recordings
What
is really important to take away from this review (if you have made it this
far) is that this effort is worth your effort. It is an album of
patience and depth that will reward you more upon every subsequent rotation. What we have on our hands is far more
endearing, a collection of songs to lift your mood and celebrate life to in a
sometimes desperate world. “Palms” is
an absolute triumph on every level. Let it wash over your senses.
“Palms” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1)
Future Warrior (7:56)
2)
Patagonia (6:41)
3)
Mission Sunset (9:58)
4)
Shortwave Radio (6:57)
5)
Tropics (5:44)
6)
Antarctic Handshake (9:42)
The Review:
So,
here it is, after much fever and hype. The long awaited collaboration between
what was most of Isis and that dude what does the
singing for them Deftones. I loved Isis , and I have
been a huge Chino Moreno fan for roughly half my existence on this planet. So
it is with little surprise that I really dig this self-titled affair. However,
if you've come here expecting colossal riffs and chasm inducing noise then
sadly you're in the wrong place. But please do read on, lest you miss out on
something truly special...
Straight
away it's not what you think it's going to be: it's a far more serene animal
than the past and current lives of the musicians involved. This is in no way Chino fronting the Isis
that you remember. Well, not completely - some of this stuff does hark back to
the mellower side of that iconic act. The riffs are there to be uncovered, and
they do have some body to them. The aim here though is blissful resonance and
calm. Less planets collide, more star showers over the desert. Which is nice?
'Future Warrior' was an ideal candidate to start the album off
with, and presents a wise choice made by the group to do so. You can hear the
collective influences that have been brought to the table (oh, to sit at that
table), but in reality it is more of a Chino Moreno style piece. Anybody
familiar with his day job at all will have had their eyes opened to a wide
array of dark or uplifting 80s influences over the years. Modern Deftones
deal heavily in this; as does a lot of Palms. This opening track sounds like Isis
if Chino
I
really got into 'Mission Sunset' in a BIG way.
Offbeat beginnings with a pinch of electronica give way to some delightful
sparse guitar flourishes. The drums are really clear on this track, their
importance cannot be overstated. So crisp, so clear. It all boils down to those
velvet Moreno pipes though, his crooning is possibly even more suited to the
clear objectives of this group than it is to the band that brought him to the
dance. His clean vocals have been finely honed over the years, almost as if
this was some unknown finishing line of sorts. This is essential, blissed out
music.
The
guitar effects on 'Shortwave Radio' make the hair on
the back of my neck stand bolt upright. They're downright heavenly, like
sunlight dancing on water. It gets meatier at the end with some nice repeated
lyrics that are almost mantra like.
What
is really important to take away from this review (if you have made it this
far) is that this effort is worth your effort. It is an album of
patience and depth that will reward you more upon every subsequent rotation.
No, it's maybe not what you had envisioned, it wasn't even what I had
envisioned, but I am glad I was wrong in my prediction. What we have on our
hands is far more endearing, a collection of songs to lift your mood and
celebrate life to in a sometimes desperate world.
“Palms” is an absolute triumph on
every level. Let it wash over your senses.
