Simply a few years in the past, the way forward for Palms Like Home was unsure.
The unprecedented chaos of a world pandemic adopted by the departure of founding vocalist Trenton Woodley in 2023, the band’s 4 remaining members have been confronted with a choice. Spending over a decade carving out a singular house within the different scene – their gritty post-hardcore roots regularly evolving right into a masterclass in hovering melodies and anthemic choruses – each their careers and identities have been all of a sudden thrown into query. Not sure of something besides the easy, indisputable fact that they needed to proceed making music collectively – they started trying to find their lacking piece.
Collaborating with musicians and mates from all corners of their scene as they explored their choices, former The Faim frontman Josh Raven slotted seamlessly into the image. A vocalist greater than able to nailing their signature steadiness of depth and emotion, he understood the band’s mission from the get-go, pummelling down the inventive roadblocks mendacity of their path.
Changing into the catalyst for Palms Like Homes’ subsequent chapter, what began as an experiment rapidly grew to become a reinvention, resulting in their most bold venture but. A sprawling 16-track double album, ‘ATMOSPHERICS’ is a reintroduction to the Aussie band like no different. Divided into 4 volumes – every impressed by a unique layer of the Earth’s environment – it captures their rebirth in actual time, unburdened by outdoors pressures and cherishing the surprise of inventive freedom.
Navigating their newfound standing as impartial artists and rediscovering their love for music, as Palms Like Homes step into a brand new period, they’re embracing the limitless potentialities that now lie forward. With ‘ATMOSPHERICS’ set to drop on February 14, we sat down with the band to dive into the journey that has led them to their boldest chapter but.
ROCK SOUND: After a transitional interval, this very a lot appears like a brand new starting for Palms Like Homes…
MATT COOPER: “It’s undoubtedly been an odd time for us. By COVID, like numerous artists, we didn’t know if we might play exhibits anymore. We didn’t know if we’d even be a band anymore, so the truth that we’re releasing a 16-track album now could be loopy. Josh is the explanation we’re right here although, and the primary music that we wrote with him was the catalyst of us getting up to now. It’s fairly surreal, and it’s been a journey to get right here.
It took place as a result of we had all of this music within the financial institution, and we needed to maintain working. We’ve made mates with some unbelievable musicians through the years, so we have been writing music and sending it out to them. One of many individuals we despatched one thing to was Josh, and we bought along with our producer Cal [Orr] in Melbourne. Immediately, being within the room collectively felt good. From there, the album grew to become this playground for us to muck round with and discover.”
JOEL TYRRELL: “In the course of the prior 5 or 6 years of the band, we actually struggled to put in writing music. It was robust, and we had just a few scars from recording experiences that hadn’t gone so nicely. We sat down and talked about how all of us nonetheless needed to do that, however we wanted to discover a solution to make it enjoyable once more. We needed to take pleasure in it, and when Josh got here in, he introduced this power into us. It felt like we have been making our first document once more, and we have been writing so many concepts. There wasn’t a lot resistance, there weren’t numerous clashes, and it was purely individuals turning up and dealing collectively. We had much more concepts than we thought we might, therefore the 16-track double album. Within the house of six months working with Josh, we wrote and completed extra songs than we had within the earlier six years.”
ROCK SOUND: The perk of getting so many various layers throughout the document is that it removes the necessity for complete cohesion. You’ll be able to mess around with totally different sides of your sound, and there’s no want for each music to sit down comfortably alongside one another. Approaching it in that approach, did it really feel as if there was much less strain on you?
MATT COOPER: “I believe that turning into an impartial band is what set us as much as even entertain having that state of mind. It was far more type of chill when it comes to how the concepts grew to become the ultimate songs, and it was a lot extra streamlined with out different individuals’s involvement. With simply us working collectively alongside our producer, the method was a lot faster. It’s the primary time that we’ve actually had that have.”
JOSH RAVEN: “Coming from a unique world with The Faim, I virtually didn’t know what to do with myself for the primary couple of months. Each time I mentioned, ‘I can’t do that’ although, it was met with ‘Nah, it’s okay’. Nothing was off limits, and we have been all simply making an attempt to make it work. Often, it’s far more condensed and intense, however when that strain is lifted it turns into an important surroundings for creativity. To be given the liberty to discover your individual infantile emotions with creativity, as a substitute of it simply feeling prefer it’s one thing you must do… That’s so worthwhile. When you have got a burning need to do one thing, moderately than realizing you’ll want to do it due to what a label, supervisor or reserving agent says, that’s when the great things occurs.”
ROCK SOUND: That’s necessary, as a result of at a sure level in any profession – however particularly in music – you possibly can lose the magic of it. That easy spark of making for the love of it, and never worrying an excessive amount of concerning the final result, can subside. Have been you in a position to rediscover that slightly?
JOEL TYRRELL: “There was an enormous ingredient of that. We’ve been very lucky to have these careers which have allowed us to go on dream excursions and put out data. We’ve finished numerous issues, so we’re not right here making an attempt to chase these bucket checklist objects. It was extra about going again to the drafting board and understanding how we might make creating and doing one thing that we love pleasurable once more. Not having the strain of a label saying we’d like an album delivered by a sure date, that eliminated just about the entire stress that used to return with the recording expertise. We have been in a position to simply go in and create, and if we didn’t like one thing, we might simply bin it. It took away the necessity to come out with a end result, and that relaxed us. That’s how we have been in a position to provide you with the songs that we did.”
MATT COOPER: “Even with the construction of the discharge, issues modified a bit over time. These adjustments have been simply us doing what we needed to do with it, and that doesn’t occur with a label. Often, you’ve bought eight different individuals making an attempt to get their level throughout, however this time we did all the pieces ourselves. We’re making the choices, it’s all deliberate, and that makes it a lot extra relaxed.”
ROCK SOUND: Let’s discuss slightly bit concerning the theming of the document, and the way the songs are put collectively. Every quantity is called after a layer of the environment, and every has its personal distinctive really feel to it. The place did that concept come from?
JOEL TYRRELL: “Initially, the concept of getting these layers of the environment was only a place for us to complete music throughout a selected cut-off date. Previously, we’ve struggled with getting actually excited a couple of music that we’re writing however realizing that it’s going to be one other two years till it comes out. By doing it this manner, we have been in a position to deal with every layer of the environment at a time. We’d have 4 songs that outlined that session and that time frame collectively, after which we might transfer on to the subsequent factor. The best way that it naturally ended up working was the 4 songs would get finished in a interval, then would break for slightly bit, then come collectively for one more couple of weeks to get the subsequent batch finished. Firstly, we didn’t deliberately got down to have 4 layers every with 4 tracks, however it allowed us to place out music nearer to the time through which we’d created it. We have been in a position to present individuals the journey, and the way we restarted this chapter with Josh. You’ll be able to see the evolution of that all through the document, and once you get to the again finish you possibly can see how we’ve explored what’s doable with this lineup. It’s simply the beginning of what it appears to be like like for us creatively.”
JOSH RAVEN: “As a result of the songs have been written so near once they have been launched, we’re bringing individuals into our current second. That’s why there’s numerous totally different flavours, feelings and emotions all through the document, and I’m fairly positive we wrote most of it elsewhere from a bodily perspective too. We’re bringing individuals into these totally different areas, and I believe it’s necessary. It highlights the place we started and the place we’ve ended up, and that endpoint is tremendous thrilling.”
ROCK SOUND: You’ll be able to see that journey within the first quantity of the album, as a result of there are such a lot of totally different collaborators placing their very own spin on issues. How did working with the likes of Underøath’s Aaron Gillespie and RedHook’s Emmy Mack bolster your creativity initially of the method?
JOEL TYRRELL: “Funnily sufficient, that course of began from us simply making an attempt to put in writing music. After we parted methods with our outdated singer, the 4 of us needed to maintain making music, however the query was – how can we do it? To start with, we thought we’d attempt to be a DJ rock band. We weren’t going to have a singer; we have been simply going to put in writing songs with our mates. We began writing with Emmy and Philip from Normandie, then we wrote a music with Josh. That was the turning level for us, as a result of we realised that we weren’t simply writing a music with a buddy. It felt like the subsequent sound of the band. It was nice for us to be pushed in several instructions by singers throughout that course of, and to be challenged like that. We haven’t finished a complete lot of collaborations like that in our profession, and numerous them are artists that we’ve toured with through the years. It was nice to have that assist from individuals who needed to work with us and needed to again us. It made us really feel excited concerning the songs we have been writing, as a result of we knew that individuals have been excited to work on them with us.”
ROCK SOUND: One thing that’s been distinctive concerning the launch of this document is that followers have heard a big portion of those songs already through the EPs. It’s been virtually a yr now for the reason that first quantity dropped, so how has it been to see the response at every stage?
JOSH RAVEN: “It’s been superior, particularly in relation to the stay exhibits. Being completely clear, the primary present was fairly nerve-wracking… I used to be shitting my pants. I wrote all these notes on my setlist, and I misplaced it proper earlier than the present. I had no notes, and I used to be completely crapping my pants. It ended up being among the finest exhibits of the tour although. It was rowdy, it was enjoyable, and everybody after the present was tremendous good to me. It’s a bizarre place to be in as a brand new singer coming right into a band, so I used to be nervous, however it couldn’t have gone a lot better. I knew that the writing course of had been superior, and my relationship with the fellows was superior, so the final piece of the puzzle was seeing the way it went stay. I didn’t know if individuals would love me or hate me, however it ended up being so heat and comforting. Followers have been in a position to acknowledge the previous but in addition be excited for the long run.
That introduced extra gasoline into all the pieces as a result of we realised that it was turning into one thing actual. That modified it for me, and because the document progressed, we additionally bought to know one another extra as writers and as individuals. We’re studying extra about our previous and our tales, and that’s deepened our reference to one another. Because the songs went on, extra layers have been being peeled off. There are increasingly more items which can be beginning to shed, and you may solely get into these deeper components with time. We’re hitting that time now, and particularly on the finish of this document you possibly can hear it. By the final couple of songs, it appears like we’ve opened up and shed the armour far more. It’s been a technique of studying and development, and the entire motive why we’re doing it’s as a result of it feels good. In fact, there are all the time going to individuals who aren’t into it, however there can be no problem with none negativity or criticism. If all the pieces was excellent, I’d be very involved.”
ROCK SOUND: With the ability to strategy making music from a perspective of following what feels good, moderately than being confined to a sure sound or model, has that given you a renewed religion in what the long run holds for Palms Like Homes?
JOSH RAVEN: “100 per cent, as a result of we don’t actually know what we are able to’t do at this level. It appears like all doorways are open, and if something, it’s infinite. Nothing is out of the query, and that’s the thrilling half.”
MATT COOPER: “It’s simply far more attention-grabbing to be making music like this. As artists, to have a venture that permits such a factor is so refreshing. We are able to do regardless of the hell we wish now, and that’s enjoyable.”
JOEL TYRRELL: “It appears like this document has been a form of honeymoon interval. All the things’s nice, and now the doorways are open, and we are able to go anyplace. We are able to go wherever we wish with it, and that’s in all probability essentially the most thrilling factor. We’re pumped to have this 16-track album popping out, however we’re in all probability extra enthusiastic about the truth that we’re nonetheless writing. We’ve bought extra stuff coming, and it feels good. We have to have fun this album, however we’re so buzzed to be writing music collectively.”
JOSH RAVEN: “Who is aware of? Possibly after 5 weeks in an RV collectively, we would change that perspective. The subsequent album may very well be all about lengthy drives, winding roads and cyclones!”
‘ATMOSPHERICS’ is out on February 14 through Civillians.
