Channeling the ominous sound of an 80s prom in a war zone, Nashville post-punk outfit Palm Ghosts debut their dark dance track “Bloodlight”.
Palm Ghosts, located dead in the heartland of country music, is as sonically far from the honky-tonks and pedal taverns of their adopted Music City USA as one can get. The quartet draws from early cinematic dream pop and new wave, embracing their 80’s idols: New Order, The Cure, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, and even Divine, to name a few. The band acknowledges they are more at home in “rainy Manchester or blustery Berlin.”
Lyrically, however, one may be surprised to learn songwriter Joseph Lekkas still absorbed the poetic American Gothic sensibilities of hardscrabble odes penned by blue-collar scribes Porter Wagoner, Lee Hazlewood, and Loretta Lynn. There are even echoes of early R.E.M. (particularly Texarkana) in the soaring hook. The blend of styles is pure magic steeped in poignancy.
The noir track compares the climate crisis to a crime scene: “Luminol is a chemical commonly used in forensics for the detection of blood stains,” says Lekkas. “Nothing vanishes without a trace and particles of blood adhere to surfaces for years…The same applies to what humans have done to the earth. The damage will remain long after we are gone.”
Listen to Bloodlight below:
Earlier this year, Palm Ghosts released Lifeboat Candidate, a giant earworm on unrest, isolation, and frustration. While the world feels little changed since then, the new Lost Frequency album is different. It is an album lost to the pandemic hearkening back to before the great stasis; a grieving of a sense of normalcy. However, the lyrics still bring confrontation to the forefront, and remind us that normalcy is still devastating.
The Lost Frequency is out November 19th. Pre-save the single “Bloodlight” on Spotify here, and pre-order The Lost Frequency here.
Palm Ghosts Tour Dates
10.08 – Indianapolis, IN @ Black Circle Brewing Company
10.09 – Chicago, IL @ Bourbon on Division
10.10 – Milwaukee, WI @ X Ray Arcade
10.14 – Memphis, TN @ Hi Tone
10.21 – Jacksonville, FL @ Justice Pub
10.22 – Atlanta, GA @ Boggs Social Club
10.23 – Savannah, GA @ Sentient Bean
11.18 – Nashville, TN @ The 5 Spot – Record Release Show
12.16 – Nashville, TN @ The 5 Spot
