Fathom XIX

Palace Law

2017-11-26

rock clichés. There’s maybe an overabundance of guitar solos and silly machismo, the mixes can leave the album feeling a little sludgy and indistinct, and there’s even a backwards song designed to provoke 1980s mothers to interpretations of Satanist messages. But I for one will always give the benefit of the doubt to bands that sound like they sincerely love rock ‘n roll. Fathom XIX hits these songs properly hard, resembling early Mudhoney more than anyone else. And for an album as focused on symmetry as “Palace Law,” the second half is a substantially more interesting listen than the first. The band mixes up their pacing and becomes less concerned with domineering riffs. I would, however, like for someone to explain to singer Darin Wiltse that when talking about gold, karats are units of purity rather than weight, making the chorus “feel like 24 karats of solid gold” redundant.

Pros: Riffs, velocity.

Cons: Sounds like GRD will be putting them on heavy rotation very soon.

Primest Cuts: “Solid Gold” “Bring Me The World”

review by Kollen

Quick Links:

More reviews tagged #Rock

  • reviewed 07/2006

    GUSTER
    Ganging up on the Sun

  • reviewed 08/2010

    SILVERSMITH
    Stories and Nightscapes

  • reviewed 08/2007

    MEMPHIS
    A Little Place in the Wilderness

  • reviewed 01/2013

    WILLAMENA
    Lost in the Shadows

  • reviewed 01/2011

    FUJIYA & MIYAGI
    Ventriloquizzing

  • reviewed 03/2011

    THE HEAD AND THE HEART
    The Head and the Heart

Compiled by the WYCE Journalism Club

The opinions expressed in these reviews are those of the individual volunteers that submitted the article and do not necessarily reflect the views of WYCE or GRCMC; nor its staff, donors, or affiliates.