Palms (AU)

Palms, a quartet based in Sydney, Australia, fuse rock and roll drive with sharp pop melodies, an extra helping of kinetic spirit, and a measured dash of defiance. The group ranks among the more prominent acts on the independent circuit across the Antipodes. Singer-guitarist Al Grigg and drummer-backing vocalist Tom Wallace launched the project in 2011, not long after their previous band Red Riders disbanded. Intent on creating music “less melodramatic and angsty,” as Grigg described it, the pair recorded a modest-budget single called “The Summer Is Done with Us” under the Palms name early that year. Bassist Leroy Macqueen and guitarist Dion “Danger” Ford joined in time for the band’s first live performance in June 2011, completing the lineup. A second single, “Love” (“It’s about love,” the band helpfully noted), followed in May 2012. After building momentum through frequent shows, Palms signed with Spunk Records and released their debut album Step Brothers in 2013. By the album’s arrival, Macqueen had exited to form the markedly more unconventional duo the Gooch Palms, leaving Brendan Walsh to take over on bass. The band then moved to Ivy League Records, a subsidiary of the longstanding Australian imprint Mushroom Records, and issued their second album Crazy Rack in October 2015.