Palomar are not interested in genre-bending. Indeed, their focus is exactly the opposite – an attempt to dig deeply into basic themes and reveal them in all their glory. It’s surprisingly refreshing, actually.
Their new record All Things, Forests (eMusic) is a triumph of tension and release, a battle between effortless pop and thunderous guitars, between verses that hold onto a minor key with all their strength against choruses and guitar lines just aching to be set free, between madness and genius.
In that respect, it reminds me a great deal of Boxer from The National. However, while that record rode the tension from start to finish without resolution or release, Palomar are more than happy to blow up the dam and let it all run free. And in that instant when it all breaks free, it’s all the more satisfying because of the wait, like the moment when you finally give in and scratch a mosquito bite.
It all kicks off with the pleasantly charming twee of “Bury Me Closer.” But then, in a sign of many sequencing decisions to come, they follow this effervescent, quirky track with the dark, sullen, barely contained darkness of “Our Haunt.” It’s full of distortion and a brooding guitar line and absolutely demolishes every other 90s throwback band on the scene right now.
The next three tracks navigate the space in between these tracks, with songs that brightly shine and melodies that grow from shy little things into choruses that simply cannot be contained.
But all this is merely set-up for another change of pace, provided by the magnificent “Beats Beat Nothing.” At its heart is Warren’s voice, balancing effortlessly between the opposing forces of atmospheric percussion and guitars that weigh heavily like an anchor. It’s the eye of a hurricane, and even though you know the explosion is coming, you still aren’t prepared for the onslaught.
Perhaps the only misstep on the record is “He Came to Stay,” which indulges itself a bit too much with the loud/soft dynamic at the expense of ever developing an underlying melody, thus leaving it bereft of the seething tension that makes the other songs so powerful.
All is forgiven though, by the next track “Bridge of Sighs,” possibly the best guitar-pop song of the entire year. The interplay between drums, guitars, and vocals are never better than on this track. And you can’t help but revel in the smiling-to-take-away-the-pain wryness of lines like “Launched too late to aim for the stars, I know we don’t feel bad, cause we’re never going to have to fall very far.” Frankly, I can’t really understand why this song isn’t already a huge hit.
The list of great songs doesn’t end there. “Woah” is far too deadly to be so beautiful. Or maybe it’s the other way around. “Surprise Us” is a classic slow-builder – never changing pace, but adding layer after layer until an acoustic lament grows into an epic finale that shakes the walls down around you.
After a couple months with this record, I’m still astonished to find how new these songs still feel. More than almost any other record this year, this record has a sharpness, a intricateness of composition that makes you come back for more. That makes All Things, Forests is one of those rare beasts – an album I loved from the first listen, but which still sounds better each time I hear it. I really can’t recommend it highly enough.