aaamusic | On 11, Mar 2012

Palm Reader say it better than anyone on their own Facebook page.  “We play loud. We play heavy. We play hard. We play fast.” This is to be expected from a signed to Gallows bass player Stuart Gili-Ross management company, but let me tell you, they are not kidding. This, their debut E.P is classic Hardcore punk in the Grey Britain era Gallows sense, with very little in the way of frills or innovations that made that album such a punishingly great listen.  With four tracks clocking in at twelve minutes this is a surprisingly substantial package for a hardcore band. Only one song, What Are Friends For, clocks in at less than three minutes and, in a neat little twist, it’s by quite a large margin the slowest track on the E.P. Unfortunately, there’s precious little more innovation beyond that. Everything is pretty much mosh by numbers, which isn’t to say it’s not exciting (it really is), but with the kind of bands that make up the British rock scene now playing music of equal heaviness but with a thrilling sense of exploration and experimentation (Rolo Tomassi, Pulled Apart By Horses, Exit_International Et al.) and even the straight up Hardcore bands playing heavier than this (to illustrate, the new Gallows E.P has four tracks on it as well and is just over half the length), one must wonder whether you can get everything this E.P is selling and more from other bands. And if so, then why bother with this in the first place?

 

Will Howard