SINGER-guitarist Carl Coleman and pianist-producer Caspar Hesselager are the musicians behind Danish-Australian duo Palace Winter; they’ve been plying a line in grand, intelligent pop since Waiting For The World To Turn, their debut album, back in 2016.
They’ve readied the more synthy textures of their third album, ...Keep Dreaming, Buddy, which they’ll be unveiling come October 23rd; but they’ve just dropped an absolute stonker of a single upfront in the shape of “The Deeper End”, featuring the not inconsiderable vocal talents of Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle. Take a listen with us; we’ve embedded it at the end.
“[It’s] a story about a bad trip at a weird house party I went to with my sister,” says Carl.
“Think Kraftwerk playing a classic country song.”
Maybe not the easiest concept to wrap your grey matter around, but one you can wholly get behind once you hear those synths swathe Carl’s world-weary lyrics, with a smattering of guitars, sweet background harmonies – and of course, Jason Lytle stepping forward for a middle eight.
“I was broke and you were scared, and we drove until late / Headlights and sweaty palms, as we pulled up to the gate / And you didn’t think that anyone could tell that you had cried / And you didn’t think that anyone had noticed that I lied,” Carl sings. Tripping during an argument at a house party; a night that marks your experience for life, for sure.
And the Grandaddy man adds guru-like psychedelic truths in his refrain: “There’s nothing more than this, I hate to let you know … another you is waiting at the deeper end.”
Palace Winter discovered the Grandaddy head honcho was a fan of their music after he added a Palace Winter song to a playlist. A long-time fan, Carl proffered a collaboration; Jason immediately agreed.
“It’s wild to think that back in the early naughties I was wandering around Europe with Grandaddy in my headphones, and now here I am trading lines with Jason.
“It’s a real honour and a proud moment for our band,” Carl says.
Written long distance between Copenhagen and Carl’s then base in Spain, he remembers first hearing the riff: “Caspar’s church organ synth just struck me cold when he sent it to me in Tenerife.
“It’s so familiar and classic in some way. The emotions in that organ riff basically inspired the whole song. It sums up that night perfectly in my head.”
… Keep Dreaming, Buddy also features guest vocal contributions from Lowly’s Soffie Viemose and Marie Fjelsted, of Penny Police.
The band will, virus willing, play a string of concerts across Europe next spring. The dates are as follows:
March 6, 2021, Studenterhus, Odense (tickets);
March 10, Gimle, Roskilde (tickets);
March 11, VEGA, Copenhagen (tickets);
March 12, Radar, Aarhus, (tickets);
March 13, Spillestedet Harders, Harders (tickets);
March 14, Nochtwache, Hamburg;
March 16, Lafayette, London (tickets);
March 17, Gorilla, Manchester (tickets);
March 19, Wardrobe, Leeds (tickets);
March 20, King Tuts, Glasgow (tickets);
March 22, Thekla, Bristol (tickets);
March 23, Patterns, Brighton (tickets);
March 26, Paradiso, Amsterdam;
March 29, Privatclub, Berlin, and
March 30, Blue Shell, Cologne.
Palace Winters’ …Keep Dreaming, Buddy will be released by Tambourhinoceros on October 23rd on digital, CD, trad black and limited white vinyl. Place your order here; there’s also a limited clear vinyl edition available to pre-order over at Bandcamp.
You can also keep up with the duo over at their website, on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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