Despite listening to a heavy amount of rock music as a teen
I should come clean about not really being involved with this corner of the
genre until recently. I had a passing awareness of the quote-unquote screamo
stuff. It was fine, but I never really spent so much time listening that I
could call it formative in any way.
After all, most of what I listened to at that point was
Hip-Hop and EDM. When I did listen to rock music, it fell into one of a few columns:
the abstract stuff (Gorillaz), the punk stuff (Bouncing Souls), or just metal
(Sevendust). There was a fair bit of alt-rock I frequented as well, but by that
point, even then, the line between “Yacht Rock” and pop music had been sorta
erased, so I won’t count that.
Now I have newfound time to go down a curated list of acts a
younger me might not have even thought to give a listen. On that list was this group
from New Jersey known as Palisades.
I picked their latest project Erase The Pain not for any particular reason other than it was
their latest one and I wanted to see what the evolution was from their first
studio album to their fourth. A lot can happen in seven years.
It’s probably expected, but the jump from their self-titled
effort to this one is a bit smaller than that from their debut, Outcasts, to now. One common thread I
spot is the clear punk influence. Power chords everywhere, which is usually
good news. Erase The Pain was a bit
different and to explain why, I’ll need a short sidebar back to the self-titled
cut.
What sticks out to me about the 2017 album is how it incrementally
drifted toward the pop end of the pop-punk spectrum. More digital
instrumentation; synthesized harmonization; more melodic guitar voicing. My
thoughts on music are a lot less organized than my thoughts on movies. I have
difficulty putting it into words other than to say that the self-titled album
has a very polished production. The focus seemed to be on making cool melodies
that were colorful and danceable. I like good melodies more than just about any
other element of composition, so I tend to mark the self-titled LP as their
best.
Erase The Pain
drifts back to the rock end of the spectrum. Lots of big chords on this record
with most of the melodies and counter-lines being picked up by the vocals and
lead guitar. There are some metalcore elements, as well, but the instrumentals
toe the line from one genre to the next. “War” in particular stands out to me
as a song that echoes early-stage Linkin Park, with heavy effects in the vocal
track. Even “Fade” sounds like late-stage Linkin Park with its piano-driven
melody and slow-build verses. This is meant as props, by the way. Linkin Park
is one of those bands I spent a lot of time listening to. Minutes to Midnight especially.
This LP uses a writing method that I assume I’m only
noticing now that I’m paying more attention to composition. A song will use the
first five seconds or so to introduce the main riff motif, then drop it to
build the verse; when it’s time for the chorus, the riff will either be brought
back as the primary element, or it will be taken by the lead guitar while a
separate progression is played. I noticed this in Breaking Benjamin’s latest, Ember, and I think it’s a slick little
notation for these kinds of tunes. You could call it foreshadowing in a way. There’s
also the track “Patient” which spends the first third or so setting up the
melody and chord tones only. The full band joins in at about halfway so that
both guitar parts can power chord their way through the progression that’s already
been established. Pretty clean writing.
I like this record and this band. I didn’t love every song
like on the self-titled album but Erase
The Pain does have some winners on it. Palisades has a sound that works for them. Catchy tunes that don’t lose their
kick. I’m not picky with my musical palette. This is really the only thing I ask
for. They supplied that so I look forward to their next project.
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