There’s usually some sort of dislike that surrounds bands deemed to be the band of the moment. It happens for everyone; those who are already fans want to retain their hipster exclusivity and those who aren’t want to rebel against being told who they should be listening to at the moment.  For Palma Violets, they cleverly (and luckily) don’t appear to be falling into this typical new-band trap, as they played to a packed out Nation of Shopkeepers, and honestly, they deserve any attention that surrounds them, maybe even more.

 

Front-double Sam Fryer and Chilli Dresson duel vocally with screams and aggression that engages the crowd, as does the angst-pop aggression and psych backgrounds, mirroring the likes of The Horrors. It’s understandable why so many people are telling us that Palma Violets are the band of the moment, they really are. Tuneful Libertines-esque melodies and crowd-engaging angst-pop vocals engage the crowd; even to the extent of a group of young girls go in for a supporting hold on Chilli Dresson’s crowd surf.

 

There’s seemingly some sort of inter-band energy battle, each is racing for the most enthusiastic performance, but in a way that you don’t tend to capture from other live bands, especially new ones. Palma Violets are far from the timid band you may expect considering their lack of social media self-promotion and are in fact reckless. They don’t appear bothered about fulfilling anyone’s expectations of them, just held up in the focus of dynamically performing, alone showing us exactly why Palma Violets are who we ought to keep an eye on.

 

8.5/10

Words: Charlotte Stones