Two years ago, NME described Palm Honey’s early demo as “a swirling haze of chilled-out beats, dual vocals and less-is-more guitars. There are nods of Tame Impala and the psych-pop sounds that have come out of the Heavenly Records stable in recent years.” Fast-forward to 2016 and we weren’t wrong – it’s just that they’re even better now.
Fresh off of opening slots for the likes of Yak, The Vryll Society, and Mild High Club, the Reading four piece gives us their best offering yet, the groovy, distortion-filled “Bones.” Over a bouncy, upbeat guitar riff that continues through the entirety of the song, Mumford (no relation to Marcus), whose vocals compare very favorably to Peter Hayes of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, holds everything together until the chorus midway through the track forces him to the top of his vocal register.
“‘Bones’ is definitely about the feeling of really wanting to be told that everything is fine all the time even if it’s not,” Mumford explains. “It’s just that sort of thing of wanting order, which is completely unrealistic and obviously can’t happen.”
Backed by lead guitarist and keyboardist Harrison Clark, bassist Sebastian Bowden, and drummer Ayden Spiller, Palm Honey is clearly a band on the rise. “Bones,” along with previous single “You Stole My Blackout,” plays like a hybrid between the indie pop of Peace and the weirdness of contemporary psychedelica. Following on from two years ago, every member of the band is now between 18-20 years old and some are studying in university across England, but that hasn’t stopped their momentum one bit as they recently made it onto the fans’ choice shortlist for the Truck Festival this year.
The sky is the limit for this Reading foursome who is fresh out of the studio and it seems as if an EP is imminent. “We had a really mad writing phase over this year,” Mumford mentions. “We’ve got a hell of a lot of stuff now. We’ve probably got an album’s worth of songs ready to go, plus some other stuff that’s not totally finished yet.”
If their debut release is anything like “Bones,” the stages Palm Honey play will only get bigger in the near future.