Nashville, Tennessee's Palm Ghosts recently announced the release of their forthcoming album, I Love You, Burn In Hell, via a partnership between Sweet Cheetah Records, Poptek Records, Sell The Heart Records, and Engineer Records (EU/UK). The album sees release on November 10 (digital, cassette, CD, LP).
Palm Ghosts deliver the sound of an '80s prom in a war zone. As far from the honky-tonks and pedal taverns of their adopted city as one can get, this is a trio who are clearly more at home in rainy Manchester or blustery Berlin, as they produce their amalgam of cinematic dream pop and new wave with brooding post punk.
In 2018 they released Architecture, a dark pop record with male/ female vocals and their first offering echoing the sound of 4AD and Factory Records' brand of post punk. Since then, they have built upon that release with a steady stream of songs invigorating the modern era with the '80s youth ethos, and paying homage to idols like New Order, The Cure, Echo and The Bunnymen and Peter Gabriel to name a few.
During the worldwide pandemic, Palm Ghosts recorded and released Lifeboat Candidate to critical acclaim. The record was a giant ear worm on unrest, isolation, and frustration influenced by the jagged art punk of Gang of Four and Wire.
The band's next offering, The Lost Frequency, felt more whimsical and celebratory. More nostalgic and less like a war . . . more like a prom. However, the lyrics still bring confrontation to the forefront, and remind us that normalcy is still devastating.
Post Preservation showed yet another side of Palm Ghosts. There were songs about love with almost a hint of optimism. If you squint your eyes, a faint light through the cracks, but with plenty of darkness and discontent for balance. Like the soundtrack to a long-lost John Hughes film, Post Preservation twinkles with warm nostalgia for a world that no longer exists, except for in our hearts and minds.
Their forthcoming offering, I Love You, Burn in Hell, is another slab of discontent and disillusionment. Melodic songs about betrayal, exploitation and the hopeless task of navigating the modern world, wrapped up in catchy melodies and propulsive rhythms. The world is ending, for god's sake. Get on the dance floor!
The album was recorded, mixed and produced by Joseph Lekkas at Greenland Studios in Nashville and mastered by Dan Coutant at Sun Room Mastering.
