One of the best things about checking out a show at Fader Fort (other than the copious amounts of free booze and Vitamin Water, obviously) are the moments when a band that makes music that’s a little left of centre performs there before a crowd that’s probably mostly there to check out some of the pop and hip hop acts on the bill (and also the free booze and Vitamin water). Seeing people’s faces as they suss out exactly what this act is all about is always fun to see. One such act was Philadelphia’s Palm, who opened up the second day of Fader Fort’s programming with their experimental art rock.
Palm’s music offers up an intriguing blend of out there psychedelia with an undercurrent of poppy melodies buried somewhere in there. It sounds a bit like what might happen if The Beta Band, Battles and Jeff Lynne teamed up, got super baked, and tried their hand at writing a prog rock album. Oh, and their guitars sometimes sound like steel pans, which is awesome, obviously.
Palm’s latest, Rock Island, is out now on Carpark Records. Check it out.