After an “accidental” five-year hiatus, Sydney four-piece Palms are back in a big way – gearing up to release a new EP, and sharing a few tracks in the lead-up.
Having formed in Sydney following the break-up of Al Grigg (songwriter, vocals and guitar) and Tom Wallace’s (drums and backing vocals) former band, Red Riders, Palms hit the ground running with their debut single in 2011. By 2013, they’d expanded to a quartet and released their debut album Step Brothers, before 2015 brought with it Crazy Rack.
Since then though, things have been quiet for the group, with “love, side projects, interstate and back again moves and kids” sidetracking the group for a few years. However, the group weren’t entirely ready to give up on the dream altogether, and as a result, Palms have spent the last couple of months sharing new tunes in the lead-up to their new EP, Intensity Sunshine, which arrives this April.
While “This One Is Your One” heralded their return, Palms followed it up with the recently-released “Calling”, which showcases not only a summery, anthemic sound from the band, but also features a slick message of life-affirming positivity, which is undoubtedly needed after a year such as 2020.
“For me the song is about coming out and being proud and owning who you are, who you’ve been, and finding a way to be comfortable in it all,” Grigg explains, noting that he hopes the track to be a universally-relatable one.
“Other people might relate to that, or it could just be living the life you wanna live, ditching that crummy job, doing that thing you’ve always wanted to do but put off, or are kind of intimidated by,” he adds. “Like when you know there’s something better out there and it’s calling to you. You gotta pick up that call cos what other options are there, really?”
Slick, powerful, and infectious, tracks like “Calling” help to cement the band’s status as purveyors of fine indie-rock who can back it up with thought and feeling – enough to make it one for the deep thinkers and the cursory listeners.
“It’s always important to me that our songs have that multifaceted feel,” Grigg concludes. “If you wanna take them at face value and just jump around, that’s totally ace. But if you wanna dig deeper, hopefully there’s more for you to sink your teeth into.”
Palms’ “Calling” is out now, while their new EP, Intensity Sunshine, will be released on April 9th.
