Album Review: Palm’s Rock Island Sonically Imagines Boredom
Prepare for a VERY STRANGE REVIEW! Why? Because Palm’s Rock Island is an eclectic album, but I like it. It sonically embodies boredom, but turns this “dangerous” sentiment into something that is odd, attractive, and entertaining. Thus, Rock Island is not necessarily about “rocking on” as much as feeling like a giant “rock”.
Sometimes, I think am a human boulder; huge and unmoved. (lol!) Yet, I am not the only one that feels that way. Every person can feel plopped in a life position that seems unfruitful compared to our desires. This could explain why their instruments fuzz, stammer, stutter, and loop in arrangements as if stuck in a position. For Palm, isolation is defined by when you live life, solely, according to your basic needs and not your grander desires.
“Dog Milk”, “Swimmer”, “Composite”, and ‘Didn’t What You Want Happen” lyrically combs through how, sometimes, we just stare at our life in awe of how unimaginative it seems. We go about our day like a burdensome routine compared the sparkly gift life should feel like. Hence, each chord that is choked, every key that is cut, every baseline that is cracked, and every synth/analog that is hummed is an emblem of how your thoughts fracture when they feel dimmed in vision. Thus, to approach the depth of boredom, Kasra Kurt and Eve Alpert’s straight, ethereal tone is perfect.
From “Pearly” to “Bread”, Kurt and Alpert’s voices casually walks and gently sits through her verses the same way we move through our homes, jobs, chores, and occasional hangouts. The effervescence of Alpert’s vocals amps up the sonic backdrop to the point that it, literally, envelops her. I loved their arrangements, especially if associate it to their themes on loneliness and boredom. These are two negative sentiments that overpower people’s lives to the point that their own existence becomes unsatisfactory and unnecessary to themselves. Imagine that? Feeling so bored you perceive yourself as nothing to life. You may say you cannot picture it, but, trust me, you have felt it, and Rock Island is a strange, but artful look on that feeling. For More Information on Palm And To Buy Rock Island On February 9 Click Here.