Charts & Graphs. Geoff Palmer

Single 'Many More Drugs', a delightful story of hearing a bandname wrong, last spring announced Geoff Palmer's upcoming album which is on us now for about a month. Having been on my summer holiday physically once again and digitally from the blog, it is time to catch up with this release.

This single promised so much and no, Geoff Palmer was not able to deliver nine other songs at this level, i.e. the absolute top of pop-rock imaginable. Listening to the other nine songs on Charts & Graphs this lapse in quality is instantly pardonable. Charts & Graphs is so much fun that it is hard to imagine an album in this genre to get much better.

In his own way Geoff Palmer defies all laws of time and space. This is music defying ageing, defying time itself. It is proof that like Bob Dylan sang almost fifty years ago, we can remain "forever young". This is the effect of the songs on Charts & Graphs.

The songs mix everything from garage rock, punkrock, even hints of countryrock and not to forget pure pop gems. So imagine The Ramones with humor, garage rockers not being afraid of playing 'Needles and Pins' or add a pedal steel to their tough music. All the best pop elements of the 50s, 60s and beyond are incorporated as well. The combination leads to music that is impossible to sit still by, impossible not to sing along to. Music that is irresistible in other words.

Promo photo

I seriously liked Palmer's previous album 'Pulling Out All The Stops', just like I did his duo album with Lucy Ellis, but with Charts & Graphs he reaches another level. The kind of album that is slated for potential favourite album of the year. The difference lies in the quality of the songs as well as in the diversity of the songs. Although this may be marginal to some, for me there seems to be a large difference somehow, that I can't rationally explain. But then, isn't music all about emotions?

Charts & Graphs is the kind of album that when listening with half an ear is over before you know it, but, instead of many other albums leaves me behind with a great feeling anyway. I noticed feeling happy. When listening more intensely the smile on my face only gets bigger and bigger. What more can one ask from music?

Wout de Natris

You can order and listen to Charts & Graphs here:

https://geoffpalmer.bandcamp.com/album/charts-graphs

or listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g