Album Review: Palms - Crazy Rack

One of Australia's great underrated bands, Palms seriously deliver the goods on Crazy Rack.

It might be just their second album but these guys are veteran Sydney musicians, with frontman Al Grigg and drummer Tom Wallace hailing from fondly-remembered noughties' outfit Red Riders. With that pedigree, it's not surprising these guys know how to pack one wicked guitar line after another into their poppy slices of garage rock. But, where Red Riders were generally crisp and polished on record, for Palms they've strapped themselves in and turned the distortion to 11. Despite that, they still have very few problems getting the sunny melodies to shine through.

The distortion may mean the overall production's a little fuzzy for some and, at barely 30 minutes in total, the album could seem a little short. However, the rapid-fire run-time is symptomatic of just how tightly constructed the songs are. Tracks like first single Bad Apple, the surf-inspired Thoughts Of You and brilliant rocker Sleep Too Much barely waste a moment but still convey a sense of a journey taking place. The acoustic No More is probably the least effective moment here midway through, but it launches into a fantastic back end, where some longer tracks really stand tall. In My Mind delivers blistering guitars in spades while closer Dreamcatcher takes its time unleashing a massive chorus that's easily the album's highlight. The whole shebang has a '90s pub-rock feel but that sense of nostalgia just elevates Palms into the top echelon of Aussie guitar bands.