Inglorious Bastards
Controversy is an integral part of the music business, they are bedfellows, and our friends Palaye Royale are no strangers to this sometimes strange and quite bizarre courtship. Some feel it is okay to be overtly antagonistic and ruffle a few feathers, they delight in the upset, and others wander into the minefield oblivious to what is happening and get tarred with the same brush. Adding to the manifold issues that stem from being controversial, compounded by the insecurities of our broken world, this new album presents emotional acuteness alongside violence and disruption. The ensuing chaos has been expertly written about and recorded to give you an insight into the grim reality. The band have adopted shock tactics and explicit lyrics to push some very sombre points forward; it is a discussion we cannot shy away from.
First off we enter the condemned house, inhabited by a plague of demonic rats ( James Herbert RIP would be proud) and by the truly electrifying spirit of Rock ‘N Roll the ‘Little Bastards’ are sent on their way. The American Dream is ripped to shreds in ‘ Massacre’ as those white picket fences are blackened into eternity and the scathing assault of ‘why are we so casual about these casualties?’ it is an horrendous statistic of an ultra- violent nation set against the backdrop of an ultra-violet, Day-Glo video.
The imagery is matched exactly to the words as expressed in ‘Lonely’, a slit your wrists insight into abandonment and abuse, PR have crammed a heck of a lot into one song. With more than substantial backing from the guitars and drums, these songs come alive and hiss and spit at you like a riled cobra. A feast for the eyes with the high drama and danger of a masked ball in ‘Hang On To Yourself’ complete with end credits, it has flair and pizzazz. The single ‘Fucking with My Head’ sees the boys sprawled out in an opulent setting, which is then juxtaposed with an unnerving look at mental illness and all the complexities that brings. The razor wire voice of singer Remington, partnered with ‘that look’ at 1.49 and the explosive riff at 1.51, please send help my friends. A rollicking chorus in ‘Nightmares’ will have you punching the air with gusto, and the gritty, down home boogie feel of ‘Masochist’ adds to the ache and anguish prevalent here.
This record contains a host of rip-roaring choruses, swaggering and staggering licks and tricks that absolutely demand your attention and your engagement. Concluding with the double whammy shot of slow poison that is ‘Stay’ and ‘Redeemer’ they present the gentle touch but are none less potent. Writhe in the agony PR offer, wrestle with your mind and body as each droplet infiltrates every vein, every vessel.
An opportunity to redeem yourself my friends – arise and walk.
Out now via Sumerian Records.