PALODINE – “DESOLATE SON”
(tarnished records)

a variety of rock/folk/dark country styles, female vocals prominent. katrina whitney’s voice soulfully sounds like mazzy star, neko case, sarah mclachlan and others, at times – but the mimicry doesn’t take away from the solid songs. the overall album pace is mid-to-slow. at moments channeling country ballads or blues, at others, more of a rock drive. this is palodine’s first album together, self-produced and mixed. their myspace page says they like nick cave and “artists who aren’t afraid of mixing spirituality with darkness.” actually, their ‘influences’ section is huge and very telling. And their bio says “sounds like: palodine.” huh. myspace.com/palodine
recommended tracks starred, = 2, 4, 9, 10 - joanna s.
FCC clean.

1. plaintive fem. melodies over a mid-paced 4-piece standard pop song. ends somewhat abruptly. moody guitars, somewhat of a dark feel.
*2. has a country-ish feel to it, a swagger. soulful sad fem. vox. and twangy guitars.
3. mid-tempo, more aggressive guitars set off vox. layered with effects, sped up twangy guitars finish the track.
*4. vocal harmonies remind me of early belly (tanya donnelly). a pretty track, heavy of mazzy star-esque tambourine and guitars. mid-tempo with nice quiet pockets.
5. southern-accent-heavy fem. vox. over a slightly dirty guitar line, country sass!
6. at first, another sweeter mazzy-star-esque soft track, emphasis on vocals and tambourines that builds with guitar solos. mid-tempo.
7. slow, sad guitars and empassioned vox., “devour me, surround me.” builds up speed at the end.
8. 0:25 long fade in, then sets a moderate pace. pretty combination of guitar/percussion and vox/melodizing. builds up to some guitar solos before quieting back down again.
*9. faster, country-rock chimes, upbeat. this sounds like a classic cover? but it’s not. nice.
*10. slow, sad storytelling with steady guitar/drum backup. “i’m never comin’ home.” pretty vocal harmonies. fades out at -0:30 (bell sounds?)