Palms is the eagerly anticipated project featuring ex-members of the hugely influential post-metal crew, ISIS, along with Deftones’ crooner Chino Moreno. Aside from the obvious reference points, the Californian quartet’s sound lies somewhere between the plaintive beauty of Mogwai, and Jane’s Addiction’s more epic moments. However, it should go without saying that this is no mere exercise in imitation. By expanding the sturm-und-drang of their old outfit’s forebears to incorporate a greater range of sounds and ideas, the ISIS boys – namely Jeff Caxide, Aaron Harris and Bryant Clifford Meyer – have created the pitch-perfect playground for Moreno’s trademark ethereal vocals and lyrical intimations, and the result is utterly sublime.
From the crystalline chords of opener ‘Future Warrior’, through the shape-shifting ‘Mission Sunset’, to elemental album closer ‘Antarctic Handshake’, each track is a multi-faceted gemstone with smooth, iridescent surfaces and jagged, hazardous edges; refracting light one moment, and nicking flesh the next. Moreno’s lyrics are typically arcane – stream-of-consciousness psycho-babble slowed down to the speed of an iceberg – but his instinctive responses to Caxide and co’s swathes of sonic gorgeousness give Palms a unique flavour, offering the listener a fresh, refreshing take on the post-metal genre. Stunning, inspirational stuff.
[Rating:4.5]
