#pallow

Pallow - Confined ‘EP’ Hail Hail Records & Ronald Records (2015)

‘Confined’ was released a little over a year ago! This was our personal favourite EP of 2015, and was an absolute pleasure to release over here in the UK.

Grab your copy of Pallow’s debut EP (Atlanta, USA) via our online store on Bandcamp, or, alternatively through ‘Ronald Records’ in the states.

If you want to mull over your decision why not read on? Here is an in-depth review of the record. Fantastic read courtesy of Echoes & Dust!

Thanks!

Top 20 Favorite Records of 2015.

(left to right, top to bottom)

One of my favourite musical discoveries last year was Georgia based four piece Pallow and their demo I’ll Build A Well. Demos as a general rule tend to be more interesting as historical documents with very few of them really striking a strong enough chord to merit continued replays. This was not the case with I’ll Build A Well. For all its lo-fi charm the tracks were clearly not just skeletal frames but intricately layered compositions. The demo itself was of such a high quality it made it onto my end of year list as one of my favourite EPs and since then I’ve not stopped going back to it.

Confined is the band’s first EP and wastes no time whatsoever in blowing I’ll Build A Well out of the water. Whilst the band’s demo was unashamedly rooted in the slowcore traditions of the nineties Confined demonstrates a much more diverse sonic palette. Amidst the mournful slowcore melodies elements of post rock, shoegaze and even post metal all make themselves apparent giving the whole EP a real monumental feel. The guitar work is still an ornate tapestry of different layers which don’t jostle for superiority but simply build on one another strengthening the overall depth of sound. Whilst there is a lot more going on this time around the varying influences and styles that present themselves are seamlessly blended into a clear and succinct sound which does not compromise the EPs flow. The opener In Wait and follow up Muted are a perfect example of this as they drift into one another almost giving the impression they are actually one long form composition. The level of detail and thought put into this release is staggering and the bereft tone of the whole EP makes Confined an EP that is powerfully affecting. Simple but effective melodic guitar phrases play out over the blurry backdrop evoking a sense of open fragility whilst simultaneously providing some truly memorable motifs that are hard to shift from your mind. Synthetic Now demonstrates the bands versatility once more with its gloomy dirge which again is tempered with more subtle vulnerable melodies. The undisputed highlight however is album closer Inward which slowly builds from Codeine style simplicity before throwing you into a crescendo in which harrowing blood curdling screams fight their way through a fog of uneasy feedback and distortion, the end result is something truly unexpected and jawdropping. 

Overall Confined is a brilliant EP that encompasses a broad range of musical styles with such effortless grace it leaves me awestruck. The level of detail that is paid to every layer of each tracks composition is befitting of a band at the height of their creative power. With every release a band should show some level of progression but even as a fan of the band’s demo I would never have expected a leap of this magnitude so soon. Pallow’s Confined is not just a great EP but my current front runner for EP of the year.Pick it up before they’re gone.

Digital/Stream: http://pallow.bandcamp.com/album/confined