Following its premiere on the BBC Radio 1 Rock Show with Daniel P. Carter, acclaimed UK metallers Palm Reader have released ‘Willow’, the stunning second single from their highly anticipated new album, “Sleepless” which is set for a November 27th release through Church Road Records.
“ ‘Willow’ was written after I’d been told a heartbreaking story of loss and young motherhood. I wrote it with the intention of illuminating the strength of any mother in that unfortunate position and to offer a permanent gesture of respect to them. It was one of the first songs we wrote for Sleepless and it definitely helped set the tone musically for a lot of what was to come.” says vocalist Josh Mckeown of the song. “We’ve put together a music video with the help and expertise of our good friend and collaborator Sam Lees. His creativity and vision will further highlight the lyrical content and the sentiment attached to the song.”
Palm Reader have also announced a very special streaming 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 honour.”
The show will see Palm Reader perform a varied set which will cover their career to date and will also feature songs from forthcoming album ‘Sleepless”. 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 so proud 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