Once upon a time in the UK, the music press were obsessively searching for the band who were The New Smiths. The latest hype-band from Britain, Palma Violets, are of the next generation, so it’s easy to box them in as The New Libertines. Shouty dual vocals and garage rock messiness can be ticked off the checklist, though 180 speaks to a room-full of friends rather than a new generation. The album is named after their shared accommodation and very own ‘Factory’ in Lambeth where they held impromptu performances and parties.
Clad in a self-conscious attempt at an iconic album cover, Palma Violets’ debut successfully captures the intensity and intimacy of their gigs. They opt for a fairly polished production rather than going too far down the lo-fi path and this compliments their punchy, primitive compositions nicely. Cheers and shouts from the small crowd are captured in and around the songs.
The lyrics celebrate the quartet’s boxed-in lifestyle and the raucous parties that ensued. Opener Best Of Friends favours friends over romance with the chorus “I wanna be your best friend/I don’t want you to be my girl” and All The Garden Birds captures a wild, memorable night out with the wistful “All my friends were there.” Love does eventually creep in, as it almost always does, with the passionate cry of “You made me feel like I’m the only one” on the unromantically titled Chicken Dippers.
180 would make a great on-off album, yet its share-house sing-alongs leave you wondering how they will develop outside of these four walls.
BY CHRIS GIRDLER
Best Track: Step Up For The Cool Cats
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: Is This it THE STROKES, The Clash THE CLASH, What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? THE VACCINES
In A Word: Housebound
