Wednesday 2 January 2013

Rotting Palms - S/T 7"


IFB records releases have been mentioned on the blog a few times since it started. I've reviewed a few records they've helped to put out, including the Hexis "X" 7", the Shoppers/Panzram "Split" 7" and the Republic of Dreams/Beau Navire "Split" 7" and it's also no secret that I like my screamo. I thought I'd take the time to write about one of their newer 7"s.

Rotting Palms are a band I've seen mentioned a lot more recently, you know, while I've been keeping my ear to the ground and while doing some digging, I noticed they'd released this. Rotting Palms are a Florida based four-piece that, while not screamo, seem right up my street as they play sludge ridden hardcore, which I also have a penchent for.

Tracklist:-

1. Greetings From The Nile
2. Politicult
3. WR104 

This 7"s opening song begins with a longish but nicely melodic guitar intro before Rotting Palms unleash their brand of angry, cathartic hardcore. RP inject a lot of subtle melody into their music and prefer to shy away from making it "brutal for the sake of it". The production is really clear which helps the guitars sound really warm and precise and when everything is playing in unison, it just sounds epic! 

I'm a big fan of lengthy song intros, as long as they have character and ain't too artsy, which Rotting Palms' intros do have. They have purpose and help build a great atmosphere. The majority of Politicult is instrumental till about two minutes in, when vocalist Nate's low screams punctuate the ensemble. Thanks to the sludge-ridden groove that RP use from time to time, their songs seem to run for a lot longer than their playing time, which is fine by me as there is a lot to get your teeth into if you listen for it.

I mentioned in the review intro about my love for screamo and in closer WR104, I do a get a sense of it from RP. It's only present in some of the metallic guitar sections, but it certainly brings an interesting element to their hardcore sound. I've said somewhere else already that 2013 is going to be a year of discovery for This Noise Is Ours, and it's already started very positively.

Rotting Palms are definitely a band I want to hear more of and as my New Year's resolution dictates, I'll be investing in this slab of vinyl at some point in the future. 

Listen for yourselves below:-


To order this 7", head over to IFB records at http://www.ifbrecords.com/pages/main.html or if you're lucky enough to live in Florida, find out where Rotting Palms are playing at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rotting-Palms and pick one up in person.

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