Hey we’re four buds from Sydney: Al, Tom, Dion and Brendan, otherwise known as Palms. Tom and I (Al) formed Palms after we called it a day on our old band Red Riders because we just couldn’t kick the music-making bug. Plus we were addicted to being broke and our prolonged adolescence. We got Dion  (mad shredder) and Brendy (shiny hair) in to help us put the finishing touches on our debut album “Step Brothers” which we recorded with our mate Owen Penglis from Straight Arrows at his house in Darlington. It’s out now on Spunk Records. We’re currently galavanting around the country, supporting Cloud Control on their national tour.

Your debut album, Step Brothers, is out now. Can you give us a rundown on what it’s like?

It’s a collection of short, melodic, mostly loud songs, written in one bedroom, recorded in another, about trying to get someone else to let you into their bedroom.

The album is said to touch on themes of heartbreak, longing, regret and fleeting moments of happiness. The track ‘This Last Year’ would suggest that all of these songs come from within the same timeframe. Is that true or are you inspired by your life up until now?

Yeah I wrote most of the songs on Step Brothers in about a six month burst around a year ago. A lot of the stuff on there is still relevant to me now I guess, but yeah that main impetus has kind of passed. ‘This Last Year’ is definitely the crux of the album. It’s the song that most closely nails what we wanted to do musically and lyrically it most clearly sums out what I was feeling at the time.

There’s obviously some emotional lyrics on the album, is it a nervous or strange feeling knowing that any number of people could be overanalysing them? Or do you think playing a more upbeat style of music allows you to get away with it a little bit?

Haha yeah, but I don’t think anyone really pays that much attention to the words. The person the songs are written about isn’t really the over-analysing/deep thinking kind. So I’m not too worried about them figuring it out. And let’s face it. Like dreams, your emotions are really only interesting to you or someone who’s getting paid to listen to them. Who cares, y’know? So I really like that the album works on a couple of levels. If you need/want the emotional catharsis, then that’s there and you can find that, but if you just wanna jump around and have a good time, then it totally works on face value too.

Your social media tells us that you’ve got a new (revealing) video coming out soon. Tell us a little bit about that.

Yeah one of Dion and Brendy’s buddies wanted to make a video for us and we gave her free reign to do whatever she wanted. Unfortunately for us, she wanted us playing along in our tighty whiteys. It was pretty cold in the studio, so we just slung our guitars extra low to hide our indignity. I feel pretty sorry for Tom the drummer who had to sit behind us all, and endure the endless moonings from Brendan and Dion. But yeah, we haven’t seen it yet. She’s sending through a rough edit really soon. I’m equal parts excited and nervous.

You’ve toured with numerous bands over the past few years (Children Collide, Catcall, Django Django, DZ Deathrays, Velociraptor and Royal Headache) and worked your way up. Do you think your debut has been a long time coming?

Yeah man it took us ages to record. I mean, we physically recorded it really quickly, in about three days to be precise, but those three days were spread out over a year. I don’t know why exactly. I guess things tend to drag out whjen you don’t have a set timeframe to work towards. And also, reading your question made me realise we were pretty busy touring around, so that’ll kinda slow you down too.

You’re also joining Cloud Control for some dates on their tour very soon. What can the early arrivers expect from your set?

Woah, not sure. I’ve been opening our show with this solo song, which has been a little nerve wracking. But I dunno, when I go see a band I usually just expect a bunch of people onstage playing their songs hopefully well, and if not well then hopefully at least with a bunch of spirit. So I think we’ll just aim for that.

Can we expect a headline tour anytime soon?

You sure can. We’re hitting Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney in the first week of October. So if that’s something that peaks your interest, keep your eyes peeled.

What are your plans for the rest of the year and early 2014?

We love touring, so just heaps more shows all over the country. And hopefully start work on our next album. We’ve already got about six songs ready to go. It’s gonna be called Crazy Rack.

Where we can see you play next, what releases do you have available and where can we get them? 

Step Brothers is out now. Read our reveiw of it here. You can get it here: shop.spunk.com.au

Palms support Cloud Control on the following dates:

Fri 30 August – Adelaide, Gov

Wed 4 September – Ballarat, Karova Lounge

Thurs 5 September – Bendigo, Star Bar

Fri 6 September – Melbourne, Forum

Sat 7 September – Hobart, Republic Bar

Tue 10 September – Wollongong, Wollongong Uni Bar

Wed 11 September – Newcastle, Bar On The Hill

Thurs 12 September – Sydney, Metro

Palms headline shows:

Thurs 3 October – The Grace Darling, Melbourne

Fri 4 October – Black Bear Lodge, Brisbane

Sat 5 October – Brighton Up Bar, Sydney

Listen to Don’t Be Ashamed here:

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