Album Review: Palaye Royale - 'Fever Dream'
Some music has no cure, no medication to take away its power or potency. The stories in life are nauseating and the delusions are growing stronger as time passes. This is just a Fever Dream, and PALAYE ROYALE are leading the way.
The brotherly trio are back with a deeper and darker take than ever before. Following 2020’s fast-paced masterpiece The Bastards, this record sees the Vegas three-piece looking at the world, fame and love in the only way they know: fashion, classic art, and twisting every tale with a taste of their very own macabre.
The singles were just a taste of what was in store. ‘No Love In LA’ became a quick fan-favourite release due to its catchy melody and the lyrics of the artificiality of fame and the result on someone’s physical and mental well-being. Following from the album’s opener ‘Eternal Life’, it shows how well-rounded the group have become over the years and how they have found the audible range for them. And it suits as well as a smart outfit on a gentleman.
The title track is piano led, softly before the drums come in and the strings strike. Frontman Remington Leith’s voice is full of emotion as the record reaches its energetic high. A contrasting song as it goes from piano to drums, to guitars, to strings; from a dramatic audible experience before it takes on an almost pop-punk influenced sound within the chorus.
It can be interpreted as the entire record summed up within a five-minute experience. One to make the hairs stand up, send shivers down the spine, and push a tear or two out as the crowd chants along with the band. Ending with Leith’s gently spoken, “Close your eyes and just say goodnight”, it’s easy to think this is the end. There is a second act to behold however, and it’s ready to commence.
The power is tenfold in the second half of the record; as if electricity just shot right through the music and lit up the world around it. This is where Fever Dream breaks away from the past releases. The energy is switched. The track list listens as a play running in stages; every song tells a new personal chapter within its characters and gives a glimpse into their hearts and heads. Its creativity, the Palaye Royale way.
Fever Dream is one of the most ambitious releases the three-piece have managed to bring out to this day - tied with their ‘Mad World’ cover - but it shows that all artistic risks are worth taking when the payoff is this phenomenal. Through the magic of music, lyrics and an eye for a greyscale-themed gothic fantasy storyline, the brothers have pulled it off once again.
Sip some water, take some painkillers, and hold on tight. It’s time to ride out the Fever Dream.
Words by Jo Cosgrove
