Palm Reader live @ Thousand Island, London, 24th July 2018

Palm Reader Band Promo Photo 2018

Palm Reader have spent most of the last six years being one of the UK’s most exciting bands but never getting the recognition for it. Their first two albums were brilliant and their live shows were always fantastic but it just never seemed to connect with people. Then this year their latest album Braille finally grabbed peoples attention, resulting in them packing out the Thousand Island in London on their recent headline tour.

Cove (7) do a good job of getting the crowd warmed up. There is nothing radically original about their take on metalcore but for a relatively new band they’ve already got several strong songs under their belt. It’s also nice to hear metalcore that isn’t so heavily watered down like much of the genre is now. Their is also more craft on display and it’s not just repetitive chugging riffs and breakdowns. Cove have all the right elements and if they can develop their sound then they could easily sit alongside the very best UK metalcore bands.

Haggard Cat (8) are a band who continue to improve live. There will no doubt be comparisons to Heck thrown at this band but they are very much their own thing. For a two pieces they just manage to create so much noise with both Matt Reynolds and Tom Marsh being so creative on their instruments. The bands fanbase seems to be growing as well with plenty of people singing along. So many UK rock bands feels watered down and bland but Haggard Cat are the complete opposite of this.

Still tonight completely belongs to Palm Reader (9). This band have faced all kinds of hard knocks over the years but they have never stopped grinding away. And nights like this make it all feel worth it. The room is completely packed out with fans down the front going crazy for every song. Unsurprisingly their is a big focus on their latest album Braile. These songs perfectly show how much Palm Reader have developed their sound, with some songs sounding too big for a room like this. Inertia in particular shows this growth best, as the standout track on the album it is even better live. The bands performance is as wild as ever but they remain incredibly tight.

Seeing and Believing Are Two Different Things is the deepest cut of the night and still sounds as ferocious as it did when Palm Reader first emerged. The band seem genuinely blown away by the reception they receive here and it’s a reminder just how important nights like this are for bands. Palm Reader have persevered longer than many other bands would and it is finally starting to pay off for them. It feels like the days of describing them as the most underrated band in the UK might actually be coming to an end.

 

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