Heart of Noise

OK so I’m a bit late off the mark here. Again.

I went to a gig last Thursday and here I am, settling down with a glass of wine to write the review a week later. In my day-job in journalist-dom, this would never be allowed. But bear with me, dear readers. I’ll be better.

I went to see Wild Palms at Corsica studios near Elephant and Castle, who were first up at the OFF MODERN hosted evening. If you haven’t been there yet, I heartily recommend checking this place out for some great up and coming bands, DJs and grimy club nights.

Anyways. This north London four-piece are at times post-punk, at times scrappy-sounding rock and of course, with the essential synthesiser in tow. The set kicked off with some pretty bleak songs, with epic lyrics talking about the bell tolling and being oh so lonely set against a distorted wall of sound. These guys are real musicians though, and manage to hold it all together, creating a really focused, intense kind of energy while moving across different soundworlds.

They raised the game as the night went on, rocking out with hit singles Over Time and Kicking Back and I was left in awe of drummer James Parrish who was being put through his paces. But somehow, that concentration dispersed as the tempo picked up, and Hill’s voice got lost and strained as he concentrated more on whacking his side drum than singing in tune.

Wild Palms emanate that dissonant Jesus and Mary Chain sound, but with the frenetic energy of the Foals. If they can keep their focus, they’re only a few good hooks away from being something special.