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revenge of palomar |
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"10 local
bands to watch in 2005: HEAVY ROTATION "Things
aren't always what they seem, so don't call the three-girl/one-guy
Brooklyn-based quartet Palomar a 'pop band' just because you
can tap your foot and bop your head to their music. "I think
if a song has a structure that's melodic and catchy, people like
to call that 'pop,' " says singer/songwriter Rachel Warren,
"The thing that really bothers me about people calling us
'poppy' or 'cute' is that they definitely have more adjectives
at their disposal when they're talking about bands that aren't
comprised as women." The lady's got a point. The band's
third album, Palomar III: Revenge of Palomar is not a
far cry from Weezer's Blue Album, and you wouldn't call
that catchy, would you? Palomar only looks like the innocent
flower. Their catchy melodies and hooks are so intoxicating that
they practically force you to get up and do your best spazzy-dance.
But with a closer listen, Palomar proves to be the serpent under
the flower. Their record's sarcastic song titles and tongue-in-cheek
lyrics subtly snicker at the happy melodies. And Dale W. Miller,
the band's drummer and only male member, can attest to the fact
that "cute" is not exactly the most appropriate word
to describe his bandmates, who never let him forget that he's
in the presence of all-powerful estrogen: "Dale is fortunate.
He has us to tell him what he's thinking," teases guitarist/singer
Christina Prostano. But Dale still has his own opinion of the
band. "In guy bands, girl bands, whatever - lots of things
get in the way: whether its ego, politics, or drug problems,"
he says. "But for this band, everything's just cruisin'."
Bassist/singer Sarah Brockett, who was once the sole woman in
an all male band, agrees, "When I joined, we all just had
a similar sensibility. We didn't bend to the trend of the moment.
The people in our audience are not looking for the next cool
band, and we don't try to appeal through style or fashion, we
just hope people like the songs." And that's a sensibility
that has nothing to do with being a girl." "Mixing
indie-pop and early ’80s British punk isn’t exactly
untrod ground in New York at the moment, but Gotham quartet Palomar
rock with a sweet and intimate brilliance that’s sorely
underrepresented in that scene. On their third LP, the band continues
to improve upon their characteristic sound of infectious pop
melodies, the unique vocal harmonies bringing in a taste of not-so-annoying
twee that also makes them stand out in the NY-new-new-wave glut.
"PICKS /
This female-fronted Brooklyn quartet achieves pop-with-punch
perfection on its third disc. Check out "Albacore,"
where warp-speed vocals meet irresistable hooks to make for a
rocking good time." "For Brooklynites,
these kids - three girls with guitars and a guy drummer; everyone
sings - sound awfully darned British. Maybe they listened to
too much Guided By Voices when they were younger. But don't let
this wee aural kink deter you from shimmying around your flat
(or 'apartment', as we say in America) to the insanely catchy
Palomar III - their third full-length in five years of existence,
and their best effort yet. Clocking in at a pop-perfect 37 minutes,
PIII's exquisite pop sheen and infectious joy will help you get
through the dog days of summer with a smile on your lips and
a song in your heart - or your iPod, if that's your thing. Despite
recent sadness over now-defunct label Kindercore, which went
kaboom last Fall just after signing the band, the bright shiny
faces the quartet don for the 14 tracks on PIII give you the
(probably correct) impression that every day is sunny at Camp
Palomar. Combining the smartly retrofit 60s girlie-pop of Aisler's
Set or the Pastels with the Wood-Be-Goods' pithy verbal assault
and Elf Power's loud, melodic guitars, giddy harmonies and summery
hallucinations, PIII is upbeat without being witless, cloying
or simply creepy - an object lesson that bands like Polyphonic
Spree and CocoRosie, among countless other young and sincere
types, should study closely. Even on potential downers, like
"You Dance Bad", "Work Is A State Function"
and the brutally funny, tempest-in-a-tea-cozy drama of "Knitting
for Pleasure" - Palomar keeps it all buoyant, hooky and
endlessly engaging. Their terriffc song "Albacore"
isn't a plea for saving the dolphins but is perhaps the best
pop song I've heard in more years than I care to remember. And
anyone who uses a squeezy-toy sample as a clicktrack gets my
utter adoration." WHAT TO DOWNLOAD
NOW "FAVES:
I am a sucker for the ladies, and I am sucker for the Pop. The
first time I saw this band they made me blush. Besides the fact
that the ladies in Palomar are the cutest things since kittens,
their sweet poppy hooks and melodies will have you skipping across
town. I skipped all the way across the Brooklyn Bridge screaming,
"Albacore when will you be happy again." All cuteness
aside, their third release has come a long way. The overall tone
is more mature but honest, and it reminds you that it's ok to
be a kid in a grown up's body. R.I.Y.L: Mates of State, All Girl
Summer Fun Band, Tullycraft, and The Like Young. J.L." "It's amusing
that a band that sets its sights so high with its name (Palomar
is an observatory that houses one of the world's biggest telescopes)
ends up writing songs concerning earthly matters. But throughout
the 14 tracks on Palomar III, the coed Brooklyn quartet contemplates
everything from the Old 97's and Amstel Light to cars and icicles,
invoking these items as props in what seem like endless interpersonal
dramas involving regret, sold souls, loneliness, and disappointment.
Pitting such themes against the peppy sound we've come to expect
from the group -- upbeat rhythms, thick bubblegum vocal harmonies,
McCartney-worthy melodic bass lines, and jangly, fuzzed-out electric
guitars -- makes for some complex indie rock. It's unclear whether
Palomar is concerned more with making us wallow in heady gloom
or nod our heads to the cutesy beats, but it's capable of both." "8 out of
10 / Sounds Like - Making out with your camp counselor. "....its
music is usually upbeat and energetic, but it often adds a touch
of the bittersweet to keep all that in check. It’s the thinking
man or woman’s power pop, with a good dose of sugar, but
not too much. Hailing from Brooklyn, the group is a polar opposite
to the prototypical 21st century hipster collective. There’s
none of that dance-y 80’s throwback mentality that clogs
the clubs. Palomar’s brand of rock music is more wholesome
that gloomy – and that makes it much more sincere than any
type of synth rock posturing could hope to be. Palomar creates
indie pop using an assault of harmonizing female vocals. Comparisons
to a group like Dressy Bessy, the Darling Buds and even some
late 90's female twee groups seem easy, but the group has versatility
to set it apart. On its third full length album, the band shows
it is equally skilled at writing a reflective and wistful song
like the opener, "The Planeiac" and throwing it alongside
the bouncy "Albacore". Songs like the awesome "Knitting
For Pleasure" approach the threshold for sugar overload,
but this barrier is never breached on the disc. Therefore, instead
of throwing out the words like "cutesy," "peppy"
is much more appropriate and telling. So call them cute, peppy,
animated – whatever – they probably get it all the
time. Just know that somewhere, there is restraint that prevents
the group from becoming teeth rotting fluff. They also pay strict
attention to writing really good songs; these qualities are more
important and more endearing than just simply an upbeat tempo
and cute aesthetics. "...it takes
skill to make music this sunny, and the attention to detail in
these fourteen tracks demonstrates that Palomar take their craft
seriously. The vocal harmonies are never less than pristine,
and the songs contain a variety of cutesy touches (e.g. using
a squeak toy as a metronome in “Work is a State Function”,
a 5-second disco breakdown in “You Dance Bad”) that
would probably prove distracting coming from other bands, but
seem entirely appropriate for Palomar. And when it all comes
together, such as on the speedy “The Lost Freshman”
or album highlight “Albacore,” the result is something
akin to the rush you get from downing a Mountain Dew Slurpee;
sugar overload to the point where it becomes impossible to blink"...complete review "It probably
doesn't need to be said that there are grating recorded works
of challenging rock art reviewers pump like mad in the press
to piss off their parents who are long past at all caring that
they never listen to again -- and then there are the actual records
that touch their hearts tenderly in the privacy of their lives
(Camera Obscura should by rights have been on every magazine
cover that ever featured Radiohead). Poor Kindercore (RIP) had
Brooklyn's very talented Rachel, Christina, Sarah ("Brockett")
and Dale of the band Palomar creating for them all too briefly,
and I imagine they wish they would have continued to exist if
only to have released this delectable power pop jewel, Palomar's
third full-length and my very favorite. Not just my favorite
Palomar album -- their first to sound closer to nothing else
currently out there, with lyrics that tickle and smack wrapped
in one of the most attractive voices being recorded -- but one
of my favorite albums of the past few months. Which rarely has
me skipping any tracks, but has snuggled me close starting with
track #2, the pure candy "Albacore" (most sing-alongy
song since "Fun, Fun, Fun in the Sun, Sun, Sun" from
Ghost World, et al) through number ten ("Talk To Your Captor!")
with splendid highlights like "Liquor Store" and "Knitting
for Pleasure" along the way. Bio data: "Palomar got
their name from an observatory in California, which Rachel read
about in an interesting book titled Black Holes and Time Warps." "..What
differentiates this record from others like it? The subtitle
of Palomar III is The Revenge Of Palomar, which raises a few
questions: who is this revenge against, and what shape is this
revenge supposed to take? I'd like to believe the revenge is
against all of the airhead critics and industry professionals
who've damned Palomar with effusive but empty-headed praise --
those who seized on their cute little faces and their polite
demeanor, and mistook their complicated and powerful music for
sweetness-and-light bubblegum pop...Rachel Warren is a great
writer. There was never any question about whether or not she
was going to try to generate a carbon-copy of Palomar II: even
had her rhythm section not turned over, she would have advanced
the band in one direction or another. We might miss the spazzy
Palomar, or the full-on geek-girl assault that used to rattle
the speakers with its frenetic energy. But if Warren now sounds
less like a force of nature, and more like a young woman wrestling
with problems, she's no less compelling than she ever was: maybe
a little more grounded in realism, more pragmatic, less off-the-wall,
but still tough, smart, easy to cheer for. Palomar III is one
of the very best albums of a terrific year in music, and it's
one we'll all be returning to time and again." Complete
review available online... "Palomar
continues to get better - two freshly recorded songs achieve
a power-pop nirvana that few bands have touched. Now, the local
quartet needs a worthy suitor to put out its music (and treat
it right!). In the meantime, will you all hate us if we tell
you that those aforementioned songs - especially 'Albacore' -
are so good that they get played over and over again here? And
that to hear them, you'll have to go see Palomar? Hey, look -
Palomar plays at Sin-e tonight. (Call it synergy.)" "We got
a sneak peek (listen, whatever) to a couple of new songs Palomar
recorded, and damn - the band has really become one of the city's
finest pop outfits, right in front of everyone's eyes, too. Those
are just some of the supersweet, effortlessly cool melodies the
group has, especially in that one song about tuna fish."
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