“As the saying goes, I feel like a tethered dove with a broken nose.”
You realise that I fell for this, hook, line and sinker? I actually googled it thinking it was a real phrase, wondering what it meant exactly. But of course, nothing. More fool me.
Speaking of falling hook, line and sinker, ‘Pearl In The Palm‘ is one of the most arresting tunes you’ll hear all year, but my word, W.H. Lung are clearly not content to merely churn out more of the same delights that The Observer called a melding of “Krautrock, post-punk and synthpop” on their debut.
If you read the comments beneath the song’s stunning video on this YouTube link, one of the first suggestions is “If Jane’s Addiction made dance music” and that is probably as good a comparison as even any professional music hack could make.
‘Pearl In The Palm‘ comes straight at you from the off, that glitchy synthesizer demanding your attention immediately and it’s frankly impossible not to be drawn in. If this is a taster for their forthcoming album Vanities, released on Melodic on 3rd September, then I am salivating like Pavlov’s dog with anticipation that the bell they’ll be ringing to introduce that long player will bring an even more appetising dish than 2019’s excellent first outing, Incidental Music.
Special praise must be heaped upon Joe Evans, whose vocal phrasing here elevates the track from fine dance tune to something approaching ‘instant classic’ status. Absolutely stunning stuff.
Main photo by Adrian Davies.
