Wild Palms are a four-piece from London making super-listenable experimental alt-pop. They’ve been around for several years now and have been refining and redefining their sound after a few releases in a different sort of style back in 2011. Their new single, “Ennio” is a brilliantly produced slice of genre-blurring electro-inflected pop – give it a listen (and watch), you won’t regret it – and their second album, Live Together, Eat Each Other, is out next year on One Little Indian Records.
Lou Hill, the band’s singer, told us, “it took a while for us to make the new record but this time allowed for influences to settle and gel but also to evolve and be added to. Time was in fact a blessing in hindsight and really important for the album. I think you can hear it within the music the layering and growth of the sound.” Wild Palms were kind enough to make us a little playlist full of their favourite tracks and the artists who’ve influenced their upcoming LP most. It’s pretty eclectic – just the way we like it – so plug in and enjoy!
XXYYXX – “Fields”
WP: This track along with an Ennio Morricone piano sample became the initial influences for the first single off of the new record, “Ennio”.
Marvin Gaye – “Trouble Man”
WP: The opening drums and vibe of this track fed into a couple of songs actually. Drum-wise it filtered into the percussive elements of 100 cymbals and vocally the rhythm got me. I liked it rapid-smooth nature and it was bouncing around somewhere in the back of mind when writing “A is for Apple”.
My Bloody Valentine – “Touched”
WP: We made a lot of music for this record. Some of it never made it past the minute mark but they seemed right as they were. So we left them in that form. We included them as interludes and the placement of them is critical to the flow of the record at a time when everyone just seems to be making playlists of their favourite songs, we wanted to make something that only really made total sense in its entirety. This short piece of music from Loveless is sonically similar to the interludes and many of the samples used on the record: that warm, analogue, warped-tape sound.
Sonic Youth – “Shadow of a Doubt”
WP: Sonic Youth have always been a band all four of us have loved over the years – beautiful noise and energy
Madvillian – “Meat Grinder”
WP: Overall a big influence but especially Mad Lib’s drum production and use of loops and soul samples inspired how we attacked the recording and drum production.
Portishead – “The Rip”
WP: …along with these guys: the drum sound, the space, the vocal delivery and its stripped back feel, the build – something explored on the closing of the album.
Jeff Buckley – “Everybody Here Wants You”
WP: Obviously, let’s not pretend, not a lot of singers can touch Jeff Buckley in terms of vocals but his style has definitely influenced me over the last few years. I’ve been in love with this song for a over a decade now.
Haxan Cloak – “Honfour (temple)”
WP: We’ve been friends since University and are still close. In The Haxan Cloak’s early days we toured together and were blown away by what he was creating live and the first record, and continue to be blown away by what he’s gone on to create.
MMR-ADM – “5ive”
WP: Great drums. Great noise. Gareth was listening to MMR-ADM a lot at home when initially producing the album.