Pales - Album Review: Don't Be So Nice
Rose Blake, Mike Isaacs and Scott Maynard are the creators of Pales.
The trio have brought their array of skills and broad musical backgrounds to create arrangements heavily sounding of emotive folk.
A song that really stood out to me was the second tract in the album, Black Lung. Rhythmic drumming, layering of guitars combined with enchanting harmonies make this song hypnotic to the ear. The layering of vocals are beautiful also and really add calming qualities to this song.
Up It Goes I believe also deserves a mention. One of the more up tempo songs on the album, the soft beat and layered guitar leads you to a chorus that has a gorgeous melody and beautiful backing from Rose. This song is rich in texture and tempo, with it varying and changing throughout. It has a multitude of layers that is a delight to hear. This was my favourite track on the album, and I only wish there were more songs on this album that were more upbeat.
Don’t Be So Nice was another song I think deserved a mention, and is the song the album is named after. The intro to this song is beautiful, consisting of guitar plucking and electric guitar chords, followed by vocal harmonies. This is an emotional song and what I loved about it was that Pales have allowed much room for vocals. The sung words were accompanied by minimalist instruments that really allowed the emotion and meaning to seep through.
Pales' album is one constructed of beautifully created songs full of emotion and stunning harmonies. My only critiques are that I wished there was more of a range in the tempo of songs, with some of the tracks being to sombre for my ears, however, with that being said, Pales should be proud of their album, and if any folk genre fans are interested, their album gets released on the 6th of May, so go check it out!
About Pales
The Wellington based musicians began to work together under the name of Pales in early 2013. With Mike and Scott having already worked together in various other projects, such as Fuyuko's Fables, the opportunity to work with Rose was an exciting one; bringing a whole new range of sounds and approaches to the plate.
Pales' debut album, It's Cold Outside, features compositions by Mike Isaacs and was released in late 2013. Drawing inspiration from musicians such as Tiny Ruins, Other, Seth Frightening, Elliott Smith and Grizzly Bear, Pales used layered guitars, banjo, woodwinds - such as clarinets, bass clarinets and flutes - vocals, upright bass and a little bit of drums to create a unique ten track collection of folk based songs. The recording of It's Cold Outside took place in various bedrooms throughout the lower North Island of NZ and also features a few bits and pieces from fellow Wellington musicians James Paul (Groeni), Cory Champion (Louis Baker, The Digg, Fuyuko's Fables), Scott Maynard (Fuyuko's Fables, The Myele Manzanza Group), Alexander Green (Groeni, @Peace) and Rose Blake - who co-wrote the track Low. Additional engineering was done by Emi Pogoni, Darren Maynard and Mike Gibson. The final mixes were run through tape at Munki studios in Wellington, NZ.
Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Pales
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