Source: Official Facebook page
After working away at it for a good 18 months, Woking five-piece Palm Reader released their brand new album Beside The Ones We Love earlier this month. We personally loved the album and wanted to know more about the making of it, so we shot the guys with a few questions and drummer Dan Olds fired back with some answers.
MOSH: Having released such a well-received debut album, were pressures high going into recording your new album?
Dan Olds: No, I wouldn’t say we’ve ever felt pressure to release something people like. The only pressure we succumb to is the pressure within the band to write songs we were happy with.
MOSH: You’re about to release your second full-length Beside The Ones We Love. In what way did the writing/ recording process differ from your debut album?
DO: Album 1 is more of a collection of songs that we’d written over the course of a couple of years, with member changes etc. Album 2 came out of one particular period of writing with no changes at all. You can hear the difference.
MOSH: You recently released a new track called ‘Sing Out, Survivor’. Tell us a little bit about the inspiration behind the song.
DO: The song is inspired by sticking to what you believe in and having your integrity hold a higher value than the price of ‘fame’ or ‘success’ in the eyes of others.
MOSH: Which songs off the new record were you most keen for fans to hear and why?
DO: It’s very hard to choose. ‘I Watch The Fire’, because it sticks out for me as one of the strongest songs we’ve ever written. Also, ‘Travelled Paths’ because of how different it is. The way that song was written and its stripped back feel are all new for us.
MOSH: Was there a song on the album that was particularly difficult to write?
DO: ‘Black hand’ was just a pain in the arse in every aspect. We challenged ourselves, to say the least!
MOSH: How did the opportunity for your signing to In At the Deep End Records come about?
DO: In At The Deep End came about at the right time. We were looking for a new label for this album and Mark really helped us out. He’s gone above and beyond in such a short space of time. No wonder he’s had such a great roster of bands in the past that have become the forefront of British heavy music.
MOSH: In the number of years you’ve been a band now, how have you witnessed the UK music scene change?
DO: The Scene changes so quickly in the UK. It’s a double edged sword. The positive aspect for music fans is that there is always fresh new bands coming out of the woodwork with so much to offer. The negative is that how fickle it can be, almost like a fashion show. One year it’ll be considered “cool” to be a hardcore band so promoters jump on that boat. Then pop punk is cool so all the hardcore bands get pushed aside. Now it’s considered grunge is cool again. By the time this article comes out who knows what it could be.
MOSH: When you’re not busy writing or playing shows, what are some things apart from Palm Reader that you enjoy doing?
DO: We all like different things. I, for one, spend all my time cooped up inside playing video games and shunning my friends for another FIFA or Mario Kart fix.
MOSH: Palm Reader has played a number of different festivals throughout the year. When you’re not playing them, do you enjoy attending them?
DO: Yeah, we love them. Mainly because if we’re not playing them, our friends usually are and we can get double pissed and lose all sense of professionalism. Sam [Rondeau-Smith] and I worked at Reading last year and our mates in Baby Godzilla were playing, which means we could get silly with some good chums.
MOSH: Following the album’s release, you’re heading out on the road with Will Haven in May. What can fans expect from these shows?
DO: We’re very excited to get out and play songs off Beside The Ones We Love to new and old friends coming to the shows. We always put 110% of our energy into a show and these will be no different.
MOSH: What does the rest of 2015 look like for you?
DO: At the moment we’ve got a few things in the works. Venturing out of the UK, which we haven’t done in a while, so we’re massively looking forward to everything we do in the coming months.
