By Remember Noughties indie? The Wombats? The Libertines? Either it’s 2007 still and the past 10 years didn’t happen (for the love of god please be the case) or PALMSY are doing something quite frankly brilliant. It’s probably the latter, in which case, please do yourself a favour and take time out of your busy day to listen to the debut EP from this Dutch indie pop group.
PALMSY – ‘Lost in a Cardboard Box’ EP Artwork
‘Lost in a Cardboard Box’ is a 5 track EP including their single ‘Ambulance’. Nothing for a long time has been so reminiscent of The Wombat’s debut album ‘Tales of Love, Loss, and Desperation’ and it’s a very welcome return of the style with the feel-good indie rock vibes a lot of us grew up with. PALMSY are an indie group from The Netherlands who are self-described as ‘Feel-good sunny energy, jangly indie pop’ and it couldn’t be a more spot on description. Upbeat Bedroom pop to dance to when you’re both sad or on top of the world, PALMSY are set for big things and provide an instantaneous hit of happiness with their tunes.
So without further ado, here’s a track by track review of Palmsy’s EP.
‘You’re Far Too Cool For Me’: Originally released on Soundcloud with a slightly different version which is where I first heard them, the first track kicks off the EP brilliantly with the feeling of something almost everyone on this planet can relate to, being infinitely less cool than someone you’re interested in. The heavenly chorus ridden guitar plays a progression that instantly sets up how PALMSY as a band are going to sound and we’re brought into this instant catchy indie hit. Their self-proclaimed sunny jangly sound is recognisable straight away and if it’s your thing then you’re in for a treat with the rest of the EP.
‘How Saturn Got It’s Rings’: More upbeat guitar leads us into another tale of romance with the age-old comparison of people to things in space. I’m still not entirely sure how Saturn got its rings, I think it’s love? Honestly, it doesn’t matter, I’m as connected to these songs as the young teenager I was listening to The Wombats and figuring out hormones and what love really was. HSGIR slows down for the end on a more sombre note leading us into track three.
‘Bruce Lee Movie’: Whoever is writing these song titles is brilliant. A more minor tone to the whole song but keeping with the theme of the difficulties of love, ‘Bruce Lee Movie’ shows PALMSY showing harsh realities of love with it feeling like “Karate Kick to the Face in a scene of a Bruce Lee Movie” still with that treble strong guitar tone but on a far less happy note yet still just as catchy as the rest of the EP. The same can’t be said for ‘Ambulance’ though.
‘Ambulance’: This is another track initially released on Soundcloud with a slightly different version, when both were taken down I was heartbroken a little but it was worth it to now see them back with this fantastic track. Both fourth track on the EP, as well as their debut single, ‘Ambulance’ again takes the frustration of love and heartbreak that the theme of the EP runs with, but with the fast jangly vibe that the band are currently nailing, PALMSY have released an incredible first single and feel good catchy track.
‘Years’: Ending an album or EP can often be difficult and something where many bands do indeed fall short with a song which doesn’t necessarily live up to the rest of the tracks, however this can’t in any way be said for last track ‘Years’ which has a real Circa Waves style to it with the fun bass line and intermittent guitar and slightly more bombastic chorus to round off a debut EP that can only be called art. The build up and
We are extremely looking forward to what PALMSY do next but at the same time this is enough to get us by for a long time.
Check out PALMSY here: https://soundcloud.com/letsgetpalmsy
All images courtesy of PALMSY
