Palm - Trading Basics (2015)

Like child actors, bands formed in college face a challenging transition from the bubble of academia into the uncertainties of adulthood. After graduating from New York’s Bard College, three of the four members of Palm moved up the river to the small town of Hudson where they released their second EP and refined their sound, which may be described as polyrhythmic punk. Continuing their evasion of the New York City rat race, the quartet—Eve Alpert, Kasra Kurt, Gerasimos Livitsanos, and Hugo Stanley—recently transplanted to Philadelphia. Following the move comes a debut record, the 11-song Trading Basics, out now on Exploding Sound and Inflated Records.
"Doggy Doctor”, Trading Basics’ fourth track, begins with a deceptively calming interlude, a twinkling piano solo. This placid moment is left in the dust with a jolt as Kurt and Alpert’s voices pierce the silence. The verbal interruption is indicative of Palm’s distaste for stagnancy and their love of tight, unexpected swerves; right when the listener feels comfortable, the rug is pulled out from beneath them. Though Kurt's lead vocals guide the song, stretching to the high heavens or sinking to a low octave, the real focus is placed on the instruments, each of which builds upon the others with a careful precision. "Doggy Doctor" is so hypnotic in its paradoxical melodic dissonance that by the end, you have no idea what has happened over the past three minutes but somehow you get the message.