I got new roommates this week. Getting new roommates is a pretty big deal for those of us still sharing their domicile with other humans. You never know how it’s going to work out. You don’t know their cleaning tendencies, you don’t know their TV watching habits, hell they might even be big time farters. You JUST DON’T KNOW. 
These are all possibilities. Luckily my new house buddies are clean and hospitable. If they have been farting, I haven’t smelled ’em at all. You can’t ask for much more. Susise and Ellis. Good humans. They even brought their dog Sherman along. He is pictured here.
Just look at that handsome bastard. Hey lady dogs. Dude is single. Hit him up.
Any who, the other night I was lying in my room having my mid-evening space out, when 
I heard roomie Ellis playing some tunes from his room. Next thing I knew I was tapping my foot with the beat, trying to make out the lyrics. I started yelling for Ellis so he could tell me who the artist was. He didn’t hear me, so I was forced to get up. You guys need to understand the gravity of that moment. I rarely get up from a good space out sesh, but the music had me. I had to figure out who it was. The band was Palma Violets. The song was Best of Friends. This week’s Artist of The Week: Palma Violets
The Palma Violets are a quartet of British gents. Chili Jensen on bass and vocals, Sam Fryer on guitar and vocals, Peter Mayhew on Keys and Will Doyle rounds out the crew on Drums. Can we pause for a moment and marvel at the name Chili Jensen. That’s not as much a rock star name as it is the name of a gangster from a Barry Levinson movie. I dig it.
The band has only been together since 2010. They formed after what has been dubbed a “chance meeting” at the 2010 Reading 
Festival. Apparently they weren’t thrilled with the sound that the fest was putting out that year. That’s understandable if they were only at Day 3. Limp Bizkit, Paramore, and Blink 182 were the headliners. That lineup might have only made sense in 1998. They should have gone to Day 1. LCD Sound System played that night. Those guys were the shit.
The band got their start playing small shows at an art space in London called Studio 180. I did a little research on this place. I can’t tell if I think it’s cool, or if it in fact houses some of the most hoity-toity artsy bullshit I’ve ever heard of. For the most part, it appears to exhibition space for poetry and weird art, but there are a few singer/ songwriters and bands that use the space as well. Their website describes it as a:
“multi functional space that plays host and can be hired for a number of creative events. These include live music gigs, art exhibitions, theatre performances, dinner club and cinema nights, and we are always open to new ideas and concepts.”
Kinda sounds like a load of shit. We had a house party once where a beautiful hipster girl was telling me how she wanted to get a loan to start a place like this. I was feigning interest until she explained how she wanted it to have a “bohemian capitalist vibe”. That doesn’t make a god damn bit of sense lady. They hell are you talking about?
Palma Violets honed their skills here. With little to no recorded material they were forced to play live as much as possible in order to get the word out. While this method may not be the most successful for attaining cash, it was definitely beneficial in creating buzz.
They were soon signed onto Rough Trade Records. These guys are big in the music scene guys. They know what’s up. They may not be a “Major Label” but these guys have already signed The Smiths, The Strokes, The Alabama Shakes, My Morning Jacket, The Hold Steady, Sufjan Stevens, and The Decemberists. In the first months of 2013 they put out their first record aptly title 180. My favorite track off of the album is Rattlesnake Highway. It makes me feel like I’m in an 80’s high school comedy and I just beat the bully in the boxcar derby race, and won over the town “Plain Jane”. But guys, turns out when she lets her hair down and takes her glasses off at the end of the movie, she isn’t plain at all. She’s actually hot! We’d start kissing and then the credits would roll with this blasting. Sweet….Oh yeah, Bobcat Goldthwait would be in it too. He’d do that voice.
The record is great from start to finish. They call themselves psychedelic rock, but to be honest I hear their stuff and can’t help but think The Clash with a dusting of The Cure. They definitely have a bit of British mod ska rock in them. I dunno? Maybe I’m totally wrong on this. It harks back to that sound from the 80’s. I miss that stuff. It was fun and danceable, all while being completely heartbreaking. A great example of that sound can be heard on their track Last of The Summer Wine.
Right now these guys can be found touring Europe, opening for The Alabama Shakes. That’s a hell of a double bill. If you happen to be over in jolly ole Europe, check them out the first chance you get.
Give these dudes a listen. You won’t regret it.
Big Hugs,
Kelly
 LINKS
http://www.palmaviolets.co.uk/