Greetings, friends. I know I’ve been opening my reviews like this a lot lately, but from the bottom of my heart, stay safe, look after each other, and shine some light into the world in any way you can. That being said, onto the review.
For those of you who may be unfamiliar, Palaye Royale are a Canadian-American trio of brothers, who rode the popularity wave of classic rock throwback bands that took over the rock scene in the mid to late 2010s, and built a fanbase with their debut album Boom Boom Room (Side A), and its shorter, but equally infectious companion album, Boom Boom Room (Side B). Their act often garnered criticism, based on accusations that the band was more concerned with the glitz and glamour of their particular brand of “fashion rock” than they were with the music itself. And while I wouldn’t say their music has ever been completely devoid of substance, I also can’t say these criticisms are entirely without merit. Between their first two records, the band certainly have a good batch of catchy glam rock tunes under their belt, but the style and attitude have always stood as the centerpiece. For a modern band that writes genuinely exceptional 70’s style glam rock, I’ve always found The Struts to be superior. So where do Palaye Royale stand, in the wake of this new release?
In many ways, Palaye Royale sound like an entirely new band with The Bastards. The most immediately noticeable difference between this record and the band’s previous work is that this is a significantly darker batch of songs than we’ve heard from them thus far. Darker, and also more lyrically substantial. Tracks such as “Anxiety,” “Lonely,” “Nightmares,” and “Redeemer,” only scratch the surface of explorations into the inner demons of frontman Remington Leith. However, these darker tracks can arguably take things a little far, with threats of suicide, glorification of drug abuse, and exhaustively repetitive themes of self-loathing. These moments, however, are often counterbalanced by cries for help and deliverance from such thoughts and habits.
The more disturbing moments aside, “Massacre, The New American Dream,” is a major lyrical standout on this record. A loud, raucous garage rock rager, this track sees the band dive headfirst into the hot button political issues of the day. In a rapid-fire of anger and confusion, the band tackles their disenfranchisement with the media, the opioid epidemic, gun violence, and organized religion, pulling no punches and taking no prisoners. Some of you may remember me discussing the track “People” in my recent review of The 1975’s newest album, Notes on a Conditional Form, and in many ways, “Massacre, The New American Dream,” is the song that “People” should’ve been, and is easily my favorite song on The Bastards.
Musically, this album is every bit as drastically different from Palaye Royale’s previous works as it is lyrically. While the 70’s glam and garage influences are still very present in the band’s sound, they have moved in a heavier, noisier direction with this album, which is jarringly counteracted by the glossiest, most modern-sounding production we’ve heard on any of Palaye Royale’s music, thus far. Imagine taking a classic Velvet Underground record, complete with fuzzed out guitars, thick bass, and loud, ringing drums, played in a sloppy, greasy, blues style, and then smothering it in reverb, compression, and processing, and you have the sound of this album. And on my first listen through, it just really didn’t work for me. But fortunately, with every listen, I settled more and more into the groove of what the band was going for. And even if I’m still not absolutely thrilled with every production choice that was made, I must say that this album sees Palaye at their most musically flexible to date. From epic, garage-influenced rockers, such as “Massacre, The New American Dream,” and “Masochist,” to more haunting, subtle moments, such as the trap-tinged “Tonight Is the Night I Die,” complete with a string section, which beautifully accentuates the building dynamics of the entire track, and the gently dissonant piano ballad “Redeemer,” which beautifully closes the album (unless you include the largely forgettable bonus track, “Lord of Lies”). Apart from “Lonely,” which more or less puts a darker spin on the folky, stomp style of the Lumineers, and “Hang on to Yourself,” which is largely a regression to the sex-and-drugs, glitter rock style that the band have otherwise evolved away from on this record, there are very few outright unlistenable moments here.
Is The Bastards a perfect record? Not by a long shot. Formulaic, and somewhat toxic doom-and-gloom lyrics can be a bit repetitive. Production problems can be quite off-putting and distracting. And a handful of songs are pretty instantly forgettable. But on the whole, this album represents a pretty big step in the right direction for Palaye Royale. Previously a gimmicky, derivative glam-rock revival band, it is clear that this is a band that is eager to grow, write music that is meaningful and purposeful, and avoid falling into the trap of making the same album over and over. This album can be ugly in spots, both musically and lyrically, but when Palaye Royale hit the mark, they do it in all the right ways. While I truly hope The Bastards isn’t this band’s peak, it is a reassuring indicator that they are evolving in the right direction.
Score: 7/10
Favorite Song(s): Massacre, The New American Dream; Masochist; Nervous Breakdown; Nightmares
Least Favorite Song(s): Lonely, Hang on to Yourself
Phil Klinker Music Reviews 