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Fake Palms Share New Single “Satellite” & Announce New Album “Lemons” due September 16th via Hand Drawn Dracula

June 6, 2022
Alex Carre

Fake Palms

Shares new single “Satellite”

New Album “Lemons” due September 16th via Hand Drawn Dracula

Fake Palms, the project helmed by Toronto-based artist, Michael le Riche is today returning with his new single, “Satellite” and word of a new record, Lemons which is set for release via Hand Drawn Dracula (Young Guv, Tallies, Tess Parks) on September 16. The new record arrives as the third full-length from Fake Palms and reintroduces the project after a short break in which le Riche focused on his electro-synth project, Sauna – Lemons comes off the back of earlier releases that found support at FADER, Stereogum, Vice, Brooklyn Vegan, Exclaim and more.

Michael le Riche called upon a veritable who’s who of Toronto indie-dom for Lemons, drawing from the ranks of Dilly Dally (Ben Reinhartz), Ducks Ltd (Evan Lewis), Sauna (Braeden Craig), and Twist (Laura Hermiston). Taking to Candle Recording studio with long-time contributor, co-producer, and engineer Josh Korody (Breeze, Beliefs), the songwriting dove headlong even further into dream-math-punk sensibilities.

Just the third proper release from a one-man band that le Riche routinely manifests in the flesh onstage in Toronto as a sort of amorphous, all-star underground-Toronto noise-pop “supergroup,” this is an album that fully derives its antisocial scorch through the increased clarity and precision of the Fake Palms vision. Lemons is slippery, spiky, not a little psych-y and more than a little lyrically sour, not to mention frequently, subtly tricked-out from a minimalist, nerdo-instrumental perspective that doesn’t demand that you dork out over the arrangements but will always leave the option open if and when you decide to do so.

Satellite” is sonically Magazine meets A Flock of Seagulls. Captained by a jagged, muscular guitar part that’s surrounded by an atypical rhythm section it thematically tackles modern technologies, mob mentality and safe havens from doom scrolling.

Speaking about the new album, Michael explains: “This record is the most direct thing I’ve ever done,” says Le Riche. “All the distorted guitars playing 16th-note riffs in different time signatures, washes of noise and buried vocals are basically gone. In their place, we made a record that’s lean and a punch to the gut. There are still some moments where the guitars get a little tricky but, in general, we tried to be as immediate as possible. The songs are all fairly short and there are almost no extra production tricks. I was inspired by records like the Dead Boys’ Young, Loud and Snotty and the Buzzcocks’ Another Music in a Different Kitchen. Maybe because of what was going on in the world at the time, or maybe just as a reaction to the last Fake Palms record – which was flush with production flourishes – it just felt necessary to kick the door down instead of knocking.”

This mighty intro kicks off with this brutally raw and angular guitar tone emerging playfully in the robust landscape. The raw notes build-up to the darting drum shuffles and lo-fi yet illustrious vocal notes which join the world and shift the intensity. As the expressive ambiance continues to grow and shift, paving the way for more intense and immersive passages, the instrumentation and charming vocal melodies collide to create the most kaleidoscopic soundscape. Addictive rhythms and the scratchy notes simply shimmer through the alternating time signatures. This real rock essence channels through the structure and exudes these powerful anthemic attributes, whilst the atmosphere and the consuming melody grip you. The complex composition reflects this real late 90s/early 00’s nostalgia, which evokes emotion and keeps your attention fixated throughout. Hit repeat for you need to submerge amongst “Satellite” for some time.

The new record evolves from the 00’s angular guitar rhythms that defined the post-punk foundations of Fake Palms’ first two releases. Lemons switches out some of the irregular time-signatures of 70’s college rock and first-take recording approach, this time moving with confidence into more dissonant yet accessible directions of brighter melodic structures.

You can pre-order Fake Palms’ Lemons here


1. Drain
2. Visions
3. Satellite
4. Wasted Silhouettes
5. Civil Liberties
6. The Curl
7. Flags
8. Bloom
9. Soft Fear

https://www.handdrawndracula.com/artists/fake-palms/

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