Album Review: Palms

Released on Mike Patton’s Ipecac label, Palms sees 3 members of Isis join Chino Moreno of Deftones fame, making an album whose sound is somewhere between the two. Where Aaron Turner’s inscrutable vocals on esoteric, often philosophical topics (Panopticon) or abstract concept albums (Oceanic) gave Isis an ethereal quality, Palms has the more clear-cut and emotive singing of Chino Moreno.

It appears that the delivery of the Isis members has taken a bit of a page from Deftones and in doing so creates something unique in the back catalogues of either group.

To put it more plainly, the album has roots in the past materials of both Isis and Deftones, but brings both into new ground. It could then be that this album has appeal to both fans of Isis and Deftones, as well as people who are unfamiliar with either.

Specific highs include the album ender ‘Antarctic Handshake,’ which is an epic musical journey lasting almost ten minutes. Perhaps this choice shows my assessment of the album, as this work would comfortably sit somewhere in the Isis discography. Like many of their fans, I just really like Isis, and tracks like ‘Antartic Handshake’ or ‘Shortwave Radio’ deliver the interplay of drums, bass and guitar that characterized Isis. Sometimes dismissed as hipster metal, Isis’ albums always received a large portion of critical recognition, especially alongside many diverse projects within post-metal. This project, however, represents a movement into rock territory.

Particularly moments in tracks like ‘Tropics’ seem to be informed by a pop sensibility of sorts. As with any die hard fan of either band, extensive listening is required to appreciate Palms in spite of the greatness of old work. Palms takes the form of an emotive album where Moreno’s vocals are the key centerpiece, compared to being treated as simply another instrument as in Isis. It does seem, however, that Palms is a great album in its own right.

Palms’ self titled debut comes out 26th June on Ipecac Records