Painted Palms – Forever
SoundCloud
The indie-pop sugar rush that comes out of Painted Palm’s new record Forever is undeniable. Upon my first listen, I was astonished at their construction of such full-sounding tracks through what seemed to be pure chaos. Once I kept listening however, I felt an eerie sense of déjà vu, not only because of the very apparent fact that Animal Collective and Panda Bear oozed out of their neo-psych DNA, but also because of the somewhat shallow repetition I found within their lyrics and theme.
Though based in San Francisco, Painted Palms was formed when cousins Reese Donohue and Christopher Prudhomme exchanged ideas and tracks while across the country from one another. They eventually released an EP on Secretly Canadian and established themselves as more than just another Bandcamp bedroom artist. Forever vouches for this legitimacy, as the tracks have well-constructed melodies and a vocalist who can keep up with their endlessly energetic efforts. The opening track “Too High” is perhaps the best example of this, with Prudhomme’s piercingly hypnotic vocals reigning over the track’s chimes, distorted drums, guitar and synth that swirl into an indie-pop oblivion. Lyrically however, they seem to lack substance, reverberating around youthful misunderstanding and half-baked summery vibes: “I watched the days we’re together/There are so many things I don’t remember/You and I just can’t hang onto myself/Oh, my head feels like the weather.”
With such obvious aforementioned influences, it is easy to place this duo into a box with the myriad of other young neo-psychedelic groups strewn across the internet. Though this box may be their appropriate resting place, they at least deserve to be close to the top of its pile. After all, touring with of Montreal through a personal invite from front man Kevin Barnes is an opportunity I would not suppose to have arisen through mediocrity. Furthermore, the duo is good at what they do, and Forever is remarkably pleasant on the ears. The record is a sun-soaked, easy-going affair that may have difficulty breaking through the roof of their influences, but definitely has fun while still inside the house.
In the end, even with its somewhat lack of substance, this record has some great takeaways. Songs like the single “Spinning Signs” and the more gentle “Sleepwalking” show the band’s talent and perhaps can be seen as a pre-cursor to the next album where Painted Palms make more of a name for themselves in the very forgetful world of indie music.
