Palisades – I’m Not Dying Today EP

Rise Records. A record label who seem to be plugging a particular sound that is sending teenage boys and girls into fits of excitement with the likes of Attack Attack!, Memphis May Fire, Miss May I, Of Mice And Men, Woe Is Me. So you might assume that New Jersey’s Palisades are another band you can pigeon-hole into that “post-hardcore that is already beginning to sound tired and cumbersome” box, right?

Wrong, actually. Yeah, Palisades share similar attributes to the cookie cutter bands above, but what we have here is a five track EP that puts each and every band on Rise Records to shame. The production here is absolutely pristine and it gives the band a great foundation to build on. And they certainly do just that. The opening ‘Disclosure’ starts in a way you might expect with programmed drums before bursting into life with a chorus that hooks you with ease. Speaking of hooks, there’s little wonder their contemporaries struggle to get them down on record, because Palisades have the whole lot in this EP. The opening verse in ‘Bury It’, the simple chorus in ‘Seamless Ending’; they are all over the place, laid down teasingly, luring you in to each song with the utmost confidence. The programming, which is a little overused these days, is perfect here. It never, ever becomes overbearing, consistently adding a little bit of colour to the tracks rather than driving them. Take ‘Immortal’ for example, with an opening that sounds very akin to Enter Shikari, just a lot less bombastic, inviting you in to the remainder of the track but never overstepping it’s mark.

I suppose that’s where the beauty lies with I’m Not Dying Today, everything is just so well thought out and intricately laid down on record that you can almost hear a sense of pride beaming from the EP. Palisades are very comfortable with their sound, and it comes across excellently. The EP concludes with ‘Wolves’, a juggernaut that has so much depth that it’s virtually impossible to get out of your head. I’m Not Dying Today is already a contender for the best EP you will hear all year. It’s always a dangerous game becoming attached to a band after one EP, but I’m ridiculously confident that when Palisades get into a studio to record that full length album, it will send shockwaves amongst Rise Records fans. Expect big things from this band, and if that never comes to fruition, then we should all completely give up on the music industry.