Wild Palms
London, England, United Kingdom | INDIE
Music
Press
http://www.musicweek.com/hybrid.asp?navcode=81181&pubcode=1&typecode=19&subtypecode=121 - musicweek.com/playlist
“Their taut glamourously drak debut single, worships at the church of PiL before taking a careless swig of brandy and heading out to pull some girls in eyeliner.”
NME, 14th November 2009 - NME
“A brilliantly uneasy listening experience, this is essentially noise music laced with a foot stomping rhythm reminiscent of Talking Heads.” - The Sun
“Wild Palms have takent the well-worn DNA of post-punk and subverted in their own apocalyptic image"” SINGLE OF THE MONTH
- Artrocker
“A new London band channelling Devo and Gang of Four to great effect.” - Sunday Times
See above - A New Band a Day
For those on the look out for the best of the buzz at the Great Escape, don't miss these Breakthrough stars:
Wild Palms
Snarling post-punk party pogo-ing - NME.com
Wild Palms are a ridiculously talented, hyper-inventive, unsigned band from London armed with a sound like a brooding, anglophile White Denim and early Birthday Party...and a passionate love affair with creating music" - Dazed & Confused
A powerful blend of spiky beats and squally guitars. in terms of the tunes themselves, this lot are as democratic a band you'll find; the creative process for Wild Palms is more organic than the veg rack at Waitrose.....A band entirely without pretension, with realistic aims, making great music and genuinely doing it for the love of it, that does genuinely seem to be Wild Palms' 'thing': this lot are fastly proving to be a class ac - Loud & Quiet
WILD PALMS come across as a band who aren't about the bright lights, the huge deals or the spot on Jools Holland but instead about a work ethic and emphasis on being a band that they themselves can be proud of. I can't help thinking that the track that I'm about to post holds their mission statement in its lyrics, "I crave for something fresh, I crave for something new. - www.illegaltendermagazine.blogspot.com
Everyone knows that getting your influences down is an essential part of being in a band. Unfortunately though, for a lot of groups cropping up right now, this is where the ideas seem to stop, with all too many aspirant acts of today happy to settle for artful pastiche rather than bring anything of their own to the table. In this respect Wild Palms differ from most. For a band who are still relatively new they manage to transcend their influences admirably while also adding something of themselves to the musical mix. Consequently they sound fresh, exciting and, well, worthy of a spot on these here hallowed pages… - Pix Magazine
Wild Palms had managed to get that thing that most support bands usually can only dream of, a sound set up perfect for their music. The bass tone especially was to die for. The band as a totality are an interesting proposition, playing post-punk straight out of the Gang Of Four songbook with a splash of Bauhaus they would absolutely not have been out of place if they’d been signed by Factory Records in 1980. Lou Hill makes for an eyecatching, intense front man with a Curtisesque twitch about him and in Darrell Hawkins they have a guitarist of rare talent and innovation. Definitely ones to watch. - Echoes & Dust
We turn up early to see Wild Palms who, since changing their name from Ex-Lion Tamers, have visibly gone from strength to strength. They play a wonderful set, with forthcoming single 'Reason Dazzled (Narrenschiff)' standing out well above the rest. Lou Hill does a sterling job as front man – he is commanding and his voice has intense power in it. A mix of Joy Division and These New Puritans is the easiest way to pin their sound down, but really, it does Wild Palms no justice. They create wonderful noises, and bring with them a great musical attitude - http://www.thisisfakediy.co.uk/articles/live/offset-festival-2009-hainault-country-park
A new day and Wild Palms shuffle on stage looking like they might try to sell you pornography at a bus stop; live, however, they're mesmerising, a fine combination of post-punk angles, literate hollering and sublime washes of guitar noise"
- http://www.mojo4music.com/blog/2009/09/freak_fests_4_offset_festival.html
Wild Palms have been on my periphery for a while now, but as with many bands these days, I never bothered to follow them up from the original point of hearing of them. I’m bloody disappointed in myself now, I’ve wasted a good few months at least of time that i could have spent better by listening to Wild Palms. Gosh this lot are good. Saw them at Offset Festival this weekend, they really were frighteningly superb.
As i was walking up the field to get in the sound of Wild Palms could be heard emanating from the main stage. Just in front of me was a frantic looking female, behind was a less than frantic looking female. The following dialogue could be heard between the two:
(female in front) – “hurry the fuck up, i can hear Wild Palms”
(female behind) – *coughs and splutters in her newly found haste*
So Wild Palms were the origin of such intellectual and healthy communication. But with a newly found intrepid streak I struggled on, gently feeling soothed by the syncopated and somewhat triumphant noises. They’re the sort of band that really suit festivals, could work early on as a form of an more than gentle awakening/revitalising/rehabilitating tool for those struggling to find a reason to live in their typically festival morning depression. Or they would work even better in a tent late at night whirling the crowd into a frenzy of dancing and euphoria. I’m sure the band would prefer the latter, but if it’s any comfort (not much, i’d say), they did a sterling job today. Their song Reason Dazzled was a particular highlight of their set, and there is a snippet to listen to on their MySpace. - http://www.pulsepulse.co.uk/?p=1510#more-1510
our very own Darrell Hawkins has been kindly picked by Orlando Weeks of The Maccabees, to be in his "Fantasy Band"
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/my-fantasy-band-orlando-weeks-the-maccabees-1676891.html - http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/my-fantasy-band-orlando-weeks-the-mac
Discography
Single (7" / download) '....Over....Time' Nov 23rd 2009. Popular Recordings.
Single (7" / download) 'Deep Dive' May 2010.
One Little Indian Records
Single (7" / download) 'To The Lighthouse / Draw in Light' November 1st 2010. One Little Indian Records
Album (12" / CD / download) 'Until Spring' March 1st 2011.
One Little Indian Records
Photos
Bio
Wild Palms are Lou Hill (Vocal, keys & pads), Darrell Hawkins (Guitar), Gareth Jones (Bass) and James Parish (Drums).
Wild Palms play bleak, post-industrial Bauhaus inspired driving basslines, abrasive guitars and stringent yet powerful lead vocals resulting in the band emerging as a ferocious, four-headed beast melding deconstructed guitar lines and Parishs thundering rhythms to Hills staccato wordplay.
Since forming in 2008, the band have signed to One Little Indian and have played alongside the likes of Gang of Four and The BIg Pink and have toured with Cold War Kids, Good Shoes and The Warlocks around both the UK and Europe as well as playing many festivals. They have headlined the infamous Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen in London and sold it out as well as numerous headline tours across Europe to promote their 3 singles leading up to their debut album, Until Spring, produced by Gareth Jones (also produced These New Puritans) released in March 2011 on One Little Indian Records (Europe and US) and received glowing reviews from Artrocker, Q magazine, The Fly, Clash and The 405.
The London boys first full-length manages to bounce convincingly from raucous post-punk frivolity to a darker, almost minimalistic melancholy. Just awesome. The Fly
The band have also been featured in publications such as NME, The Sunday Times and also received vast amounts of blog coverage.
As grandiose and melancholic as befits a song that nods to a Virginia Woolf novel an expansive, romantic new sound for Wild Palms that hints at the sonic ambition of Wild Beasts NME
The band are currently in the studio recording their second album and about to embark on a series of UK and European dates throughout the summer to continue promoting their current album as well as releasing a taster from their next LP in October 2011.
Links to the bands:
Official band website - http://www.wearewildpalms.com
Soundcloud - http://soundcloud.com/wild-palms
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/wearewildpalms
Myspace - http://www.myspace.com/wearewildpalms
Twitter - http://twitter.com/wearewildpalms
Links