After the youthful exuberance and power of their debut, Palma Violets‘ return comes with the wry smile of ‘Danger In The Club‘; where ‘180‘ pulsated with vibrancy and an energetic nativity, this latest record bristles with wit and urgency.
Enjoyment is at its very core. From its tiny beginning with the short ditty ‘Sweet Violets‘, the record is imbued with humour and joy.
Opening track proper ‘Hollywood (I Got It)‘ is as raucous as it is witty. A tell all tale of the murky underbelly of Hollywood, it raises far more than a smile. And this wondrously irreverent tone continues throughout, from the punk spirit of ‘Girl, You Couldn’t Do Much Better (On the Beach)‘, like The Clash at their most ludicrous but engaging, to ‘Coming Over To My Place‘, which is both mesmerising and at the same time insane and ridiculous. Even songs about heartbreak have the most arched of eyebrows.
‘The Jacket Song‘ is a wonderful shamble along the tiles, reminiscent of Spacehog’s ‘To Be a Millionaire … Was it Likely‘ or even Loudon Wainwright III’s hilarious ‘Dead Skunk‘, with their simple shuffles which capture the simplest of joys. And it is the Spacehog comparison that rings the most bells here – not since their 1995 debut ‘Resident Alien‘ has a band sounded so much like it was simply having fun recording music. Sometimes it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey and expressing what that taught you, and Palma Violets have learned to be truly comfortable in their sound.
‘Walking Home‘ displays this simply through its hilarious backing vocals alone. It is the epitome of what this record is about – a rockabilly, comedy opera in under three minutes. It takes guts to write something like this, but it takes sheer brilliance to then record it. Put simply, no one is making music like this anymore. Or on ‘Danger In The Club’s Stranglers like loom and menace, where the band is at its most biting. It’s superb, and wonderfully off kilter and out of step with anything else around today.
But the best showcase of just how unapologetically captivating this record is, is standout track ‘Gout! Gang! Go!‘. It is simply joyous, like the result of Interpol discovering the wonders of Prozac and a positive mental attitude.
The joy of the record doesn’t simply mean it is some ridiculous candy-coated piece of insignificance, or some silly party album – like a Russ Abbott travesty from the 80s or anything by Pitbull. The songs are engaging, powerful and driving, and the lyrics fascinating and articulate. The spirit of the record is one of uninhibited passion.
Every song is a melting pot of rhythms and textures, with odd and often changing time signatures. It should be a total shambles and often kind of is, but somehow that just makes it all the more exciting. It’s almost as if Palma Violets have no idea where the music is leading them, and are just along for the ride.
‘Danger In The Club’ isn’t just more of the same, Palma Violets have not merely rehashed anything. Instead they have created a fascinating record. Taking their passion and expressing it in its most raw and powerful way. The sound of a band who are truly enjoying themselves. No pretentious angst or epic melancholic chord changes.
This is simply the sound of unadulterated joy and excitement.
