Acclaimed UK metallers Palm Reader have announced a very special live stream performance to take place at the grade 1 listed St Edmunds Church in Rochdale on November 23rd. Speaking about the show, the band said, “It’s an absolute privilege to have been granted permission to record in such an exceptional, historical location. We are carefully choosing songs from our catalogue which will sound amazing in the venue. We can’t wait to finally play a show, and to be able to do this in these surroundings is a real honor.”
The show will see Palm Reader perform a varied set which will cover their career to date and will also feature songs from their incredible new album ‘Sleepless’ which is set for a November 27th release through independent label, Church Road Records. Tickets for the show are available now: https://dice.fm/event/a2qa7-palm-reader-album-launch-show-30th-oct-stream-via-london-london-tickets
Church Road Records co-owner Justine Jones: “We are proud to announce that Palm Reader ‘Sleepless’ will be released through Church Road Records on 27th November! We have been friends since school and have watched them since their first ever shows, so it is a delight to be working with our hometown friends on their most accomplished album to date.”
Palm Reader previously released the first single from the album, ‘Hold / Release’ which explores the notion of toxic masculinity, how men are sometimes discouraged from sharing their problems in an attempt to live up to a false idea of what they should be. ‘That attitude can tear people apart’ says vocalist Josh Mckeown, ‘I’ve seen it happen to people. I’ve been scared of it happening to myself. It’s a subject that I‘ve particularly gravitated towards of late.’ Inspired in part by Grayson Perry’s 2016 book The Descent of Man, the song provides a sober reflection on the dire consequences such an attitude can have, especially in the UK where suicide remains the biggest killer of men under 45 in the country.
Palm Reader in 2020 are almost unrecognisable from the savage, technical hydra that used to regularly see them described as the UK’s answer to The Dillinger Escape Plan. At this point, they use their brutal hardcore roots merely as a starting point; songs on ‘Sleepless” like ‘Ending Cycle’, ‘False Thirst’ and ‘A Bird and It’s Feathers’ are a conglomerate of disparate styles, the sort of compositions that can only be written with years of battle-hardened experience. They are songs that define a band not by constrictive genre boundaries, but distinctive characteristics that mark them out as individuals from their contemporaries. With ‘Sleepless’, Palm Reader are firmly establishing their own unique sense of identity.
Full tracklist for ‘Sleepless’:
1: Hold Release
2: Stay Down
3: Ending Cycle
4: Willow
5: A Bird And Its Feathers
6: Islay
7: False Thirst
8: Brink
9: A Love That Tethers
10: Both Ends Of The Rope
The album is available to pre-order now: http://churchroadrecords.limitedrun.com/products/search?q=palm+reader
‘Sleepless’ marks yet another sonic evolution for the Nottingham-based quintet; every successive release, from 2013’s ‘Bad Weather’ to 2018’s critically acclaimed ‘Braille’, has shown progression, each album building upon the last without ever compromising the band’s ideals. The progression of Palm Reader’s career has been nothing short of breath-taking; from their humble beginnings playing house shows in the sleepy commuter towns of Surrey, to supporting Glassjaw at the world-renowned O2 Brixton Academy. If it’s not already abundantly clear at this point that this band possesses something special, then Palm Reader in 2020 are poised to indelibly mark themselves out as expert purveyors of their craft. This success did not come without hard work and incredible musical talent, of course. The band have been honing their sound tirelessly over the years through three critically acclaimed albums, fighting tooth and nail to win over fans around the world by playing festivals such as Download, Pukkelpop, and Greenfield (to name but a few). The band’s ferocious live show has garnered stellar critical acclaim and a loyal and dedicated fanbase. Theirs is a hard-won reverence that has posited them as bonafide contenders for modern metal and the underground at large’s title for most revered band.
With the announcement of their fourth studio album ‘Sleepless’, coupled with signing to the UK’s hottest new independent label, Church Road Records, there is currently nothing stopping Palm Reader from reaching the very summit of the metal scene. With ‘Sleepless’, Palm Reader capitalises and makes do on the promise of their previous material. The more seething barrages of metal found in their sound remain intact and their penchant for melody is more fine-tuned and purposeful, expounding on their inarguably growing appeal to fans old and new. Most importantly, however, the five-piece’s reputation finally stands unwavering in its own credibility as much as hard-earned mythology.