REVIEW: Palisades – ‘Outcasts’

June 7th, 2013

Kriston McConnell

ARTIST: Palisades
ALBUM: Outcasts
GENRE: Post hardcore
LABEL: Rise Records

People like to dump all over Rise Records and the bands they sign. Let’s face it, they have a certain sound they like, and their fans like. It works for them, and the “Rise sound” just happens to be one that a lot of people like. I will be the first to say that I am a fan of quite a few bands on the label; they’re generally pretty catchy and have a good beat. My biggest issue is the label doesn’t push for innovation or originality amongst their roster, so only a few of them really stand out from the rest.

Palisades are a group that I’ve liked for quite some time now. I was a huge fan of I’m Not Dying Today, and was very excited to hear they had signed to major record label. Outcasts is an album that I’ve really been looking forward to this year. There hasn’t been too much so far that I’ve been really excited for, but this is a band who’s one of them.

Their album starts off with “We Are All,” which is a track that begins with the drums and Louis singing, then it builds into the full band along with clean and unclean vocals. That’s when it transitions into Louis yelling the first few lines of “Your Disease.” The song has a chorus that will get you hooked right away, and you get your first taste of the electronic influence that’s seeped into their sound.

Louis has great clean vocals, and he skillfully sings a number of very catchy verses throughout the album. “Outcasts” is the title track, and it features the guest vocals of Andy Leo from Crown The Empire. This song has a heavier influence of electronic beats, which are what transition into Andy Leo singing his lines with quite a bit of distortion.

“High & Low,” featuring the vocals of Tyler Carter from Issues, is my personal favorite track. It’s completely different from every other song with a heavy electronic/dubstep influence. There aren’t a lot of lyrics to go along with it, but it’s definitely something you can jam out to on high in your car. The first half of the album is a lot more memorable than the last half. There are some catchy verses, but generally there’s nothing that is really worth mentioning.

The album has some moments that make it stand out against its peers, however overall there’s not a lot about the album that really makes it significantly better than other post hardcore releases that have come out over the last couple of years. Not to knock on a genre that obviously has a ton of fans, but it’s just not something that is pushing for creativity or originality right now.

I don’t feel quite the same way about Outcasts as I did with I’m Not Dying Today. That album felt so fresh and different, and this feels just like another album by another post hardcore band. The album is good, and anyone who’s a fan of bands like Crown The Empire or I The Mighty should definitely pick it up. If you are looking for a brand new sound, then this is probably not something that you will want to check out.

SCORE: 7/10
Review written by Kriston McConnell