Customer Reviews

Palomar 3: Revenge of Palomar

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You're no indie rock slouch, darling. You sniffed at the Shins for selling out on the Garden State soundtrack. You saw Neko Case before she got too big for the New Pornographers, when she was just another lonely Canadian working the third shift at an Alberta sauerkraut factory. And you know that while the Decemberists' last album was pretty great, it's nowhere near as good as the stuff they put together for the now-defunct Albanian label Zog Wax.

So why haven't you glommed onto Palomar? Their playing is poppier than an Afghan warlord's farms. Their lyrics are bright, inscrutable nonsense. They're right at that street-cred-enhancing cusp between adorable and hideous to behold. Their tales of seafood and emotional betrayal sound like the songs of your childhood--I'm talking early childhood, when everything featured xylophones and had letter and color solos--flushed down the toilet like baby alligators and grown fat and strange in the sewers. In short, they're all they should be for you to press them on strangers and guard them jealously from friends.

Oh, you have, you say? You so totally saw them two years ago, and you're just buying this album for a friend? Well then, rock on.

Palomar III is the type of record that will capture your heart and never let go. Having been a fan of this band for almost two years now and having seen many of their live shows, I have naturally been eagerly awaiting the arrival of this album. As I am now on my fourth consecutive listen, I can honestly say that Palomar III delivers in a way that deserves your attention. The song "Albacore" has been my favorite from the live shows and it is easily one of the best of the fourteen songs on the disc. "Not Earned," "Liquor Store," and "Talk To Your Captor! are also highlights, while being a touch more delicate than the majority of the other songs on the record. This band has a real knack for writing melodies and harmonies that are simply striking. Palomar III captures their beautiful vocal sound in a way that is clearer and more true to their live sound than their previous records.

I really can't say enough nice things about this band and their new album, Palomar III. It is wonderful to be in on the Palomar secret, but I hope that this review may help to make it less of one. A secret is one thing that this band was never meant to be.

Palomar continues their winning ways with this gem of an album. They have a reputation as prime players in the New York indie scene, but with their latest CD, seem poised to take their career to the next level.

Palomar III is chock full of pop punk nuggets - songs with catchy melodies but substance and edge that the many radio friendly groups out there lack. Their songcraft continues to grow, allowing the melodies to breathe and Rachel's quirky but amazing voice and lyrics to be better heard and to shine. If you listen to songs like Liquor Store, Planeaic, Not Earned, and the like, you'll see what I'm talking about. Now that my wife's cousin Dale W. Miller is in the band, Palomar has begun to smooth out the rough edges of their sound. Not that their early stuff was bad - on the contrary all 3 of their CDs are great. But with each CD comes a growing confidence and richness that all great bands develop to take them to a higher level.

Even though I am related to a band member, this is not family bias! I find their sound very similar to groups like Elastica and the Breeders, two bands whom I liked very much - in fact, if this were 1993-1995, they would probably be just as popular as these fine bands. Their single "Albacore" would be their Cannonball or Connection. So pick up a copy and enjoy the fine music that you hear!

Why this band isn't huge already, I have no idea. Their fresh blend of pop harmonies, power chords, and startingly insightful lyrics is unparalleled. Palomar II was a solid album, but this one shows an even higher level of sophistication. I have this CD on repeat (my favorites: "Planeiac" and "Brick and the Skipper" - and nothing beats "You Dance Bad" for car-singing at top volume). Buy it and you'll be able to say you knew Palomar before they ever appeared on TRL.

Another great record from a fine, fine band that deserves a much larger, national audience. Having already mastered the spazzy pop song, this album explores some new directions, with a more mature, introspective sound. There are some jaw-droppingly beautiful sounds and Rachel Warren's songwriting continues to improve. Planeiac, You Dance Bad, Liquor Store, and Talk to Your Captor are standout tracks. I live in New York and have had the pleasure of seeing Palomar live, so they are one of my "local" bands. But trust me, they are not just a great local band. They are a great band, period.

Wow! This album has many levels to it. They have refined their sound to another level. If you have Palomar I and Palomar II, pick up III. If you don't have any, get them all!!!!

Palomar III truly is a perfect progression from Palomar II. Both outstanding albums that I will never get tired of!

so, i know what its like to see a band sell out that you had fallen in love with during its naive journey through the many fading indie labels, but lets not say that the shins sold out by appearing on the movie garden state. zach braff has good taste in music, and since he was pretty much the creater of everything garden state, he picked some good bands, and it paid off. its one of my favorite movies because of its unique soundtrack.
now, i know this is not even a review quite yet, so let me just say, i think rilo kiley did its best work while with saddle creek. we are seeing a band such as palomar turning out some amaznig cd's and i think its only a matter of time before someone like warner bros. swoops down and snatches them up. i havent seen the band, and im fairly new to their music, but i know their sound well, and its something to be treasured, and admired greatly. they do it probably as best as ive ever heard, and that is very exciting. if they really have played with mates of state, i missed out on an amazing show. but more to the point, this band knows what their doing. they turn out beautiful music that can rewrite a history of a forgotten past. they can then take that and make it bleed from realism in a single heart that beats for whatever shines with beauty in this grim world. one of the many, yet too few, pearls in the world of music. go get it...