Uniquely Controlled Chaos

Hailing from Philadelphia, the rock band Palm offers an unconventional approach to music in the release of its fifth album, Rock Island. The album in full is capable of transporting any listener to an island with the uniquely controlled chaos that is the band Palm.

The album starts with the track “Pearly,” which definitely sets the stage for anyone who might be listening to Palm for the very first time. It features both catchy music and vocals that easily grabs the attention of the listener. There are so many quirks to this particular track (i.e. tempo changes) that the listener can’t help but want to hear more from this album, making “Pearly” a strong choice to open the album with.

“Composite” is the next track on the album, and it could be argued that the opening lines are somewhat reminiscent of the Beach Boys’ vibe. However, Palm does a good job of reclaiming this sound as its own throughout the remainder of the song. The change in tempos are still present throughout this song as well, which seems to be a trademark move for Palm.

This method of using uniqueness in the structure of songs to capture the attention of the listener stays true throughout Rock Island. Later in the album, the song “Bread” does just that by being ambiguous for a while on where the song is even going. Once it gets going though, it is easily one of the more standout songs on the album. The layers of the track “Bread” make it easy to sit and fully take in the artistry behind it.

“Color Code” is the next track after “Bread” and it does a great job of being simplistic, but at the same time very complex in the layering of sounds being heard. Again Palm utilizes the unique nature of its tempo changes and beat counts to create a song that is encapsulating to listen to.

There is something intriguing about listening to Palm, and that is that each song is almost like a puzzle and the listener has to piece together all of the different moving parts to see the full picture. “Heavy Lifting” is definitely one of those puzzle-like tracks on the album, in the best way possible. This track takes the listener on a ride through different vibes felt in one track, just based on the way it is structured.

The album wraps up with the track “(Didn’t What You Want) Happen” and it does a great job of summing up the work Palm did on Rock Island as a whole. The structure of this track alone does a good job of demanding the attention of anyone who may be listening. It makes sense that Palm would end the album with this track because it not only displays the sound of Palm effectively, but it makes for a good note to end on, leaving the listener to ponder on all of the unique quirks of Palm.