Sydney Eloise & The Palms

Fifties girl group crooning and echo chamber drums. Sixties wall of sound. Seventies California canyon sway. Eighties laser-sharp production. Nineties alt-country twang. Aughts vocal callbacks from Neko Case to Jenny Lewis to Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast. Such is the stylistic chronology of indie-pop outfit Sydney Eloise & The Palms, whose latest single, premiering here, cherry-picks from 50 years of influences.

"Sorry, Not Sorry" has an unmistakably millennial title, but every note of it nods to predecessors. And with decades of backup, what could have been a flippant, hashtag-ready kissoff sounds instead like a rich, substantial reflection on getting out from under a bad situation.

Frontwoman Sydney Eloise said in an email that she wrote the song trying to maintain some dignity in the end of a relationship:

It may seem like a song of rebuttal, retaliation or revenge, but really "Sorry, Not Sorry" is me putting my hands up — getting to that point of numbness in a relationship where you can no longer carry another person's emotions on your back ... For me, this song is about reaching that moment where I had to stop thinking about this other person's feelings because it was time to acknowledge my own. Like, "sorry this may hurt, but I'm not sorry for speaking my truth."

Her low voice, indulging in few flourishes, flirts with nonchalance in the same way Cosentino's does. Yet hearing this song that way would miss its affecting lyrics and the band's fearlessness in casting a wide and sometimes contradictory net of references. "Sorry, Not Sorry" came from a numb, disconnected place, but it's got a half-century of heart. -

Atlanta’s Sydney Eloise & The Palms are gearing up for the release of their debut full-length Face, a collection of 12 songs written over the course of four years. In anticipation of the release, the band has shared album track “Gentleman.”

“I kept this one in my back pocket for a while—actually wrote it three years ago when I was in Las Vegas,” says Eloise. “It was the last night of the trip and the song came to me like a hurricane. I remember feeling like I’d found my authentic self and I was finally ready to talk. It all came together in 20 minutes, and I felt this sense of release I’ve only felt a handful of times while writing.”

The song, which was recorded with producer Damon Moon at his studio, Birdhouse Recordings, touches on a moment of seizing control in a relationship.

”‘Gentleman’ for me, was recognizing that I fell in love with what this person had sold me: romantic ideas that just didn’t exist,” says Eloise. “It’s what I never had the guts to say—or the perspective to see—while I was in it.”

Stream “Gentleman” in the player above. Faces is set for release on Sept. 22 via The Cottage Recording Co. -

This new track from Sydney Eloise And The Palms ambles along like the dusky moods of Neko Case dragged through some valerian root. It’s drowzy, but soon starts rousing from it’s rootsy slumber. This could be due to the fact that lead Palm, Ms. Eloise herself, made the debut album that this song comes from, Faces, over the course of a year, relaxed and friendly in its cooperation with co-producers Damon Moon and Chandler Galloway, plus guest noisemakers like Paul Stevens (Grand Vapids), Jenna Shea Mobley (Book Club) and Matt Jarrard (Royal Thunder, Spirits and the Melchizedek Children).

That doesn’t sound particularly reckless, but we wagered that Eloise has had her moments. So we asked her about ‘em. Dig into her answers while lisetening to the premiere of Reckless, below. Faces arrives September 22 via The Cottage Recording Co.

How about some history: when you started making music, former bands, where you live now, etc.
Both of my parents were musicians in the 1980s, and in a band together. Total Fleetwood Mac-inspired stuff. After I was born, they kind of hung it up, but music was always the focus as I was growing up. My mother was a singer and my father played guitar. I honestly was convinced my mother wrote So Far Away by Carole King until I was about 10. I started piano lessons at seven and moved on to guitar at age 12.

I live in Atlanta, and I absolutely love it. I really feel like you can make any house a home. Atlanta has been so instrumental in my development and in my growth as an artist. I’ve somehow found such an incredible support system of musicians and lifelong friends in this city that have completely affected the path that I’m on, artistically. I feel like what was accomplished in the making of this record was directly affected by the incredible community of Atlanta artists and musicians that surrounds me.

So, what’s the most reckless thing you’ve done of late?
Well, it’s a toss up between almost burning down the studio with a frozen pizza in the home stretch of finishing the record, or nearly flipping over a sailboat. Take your pick.

Are you more reckless on your own, or when you’re out with friends?
Physically or spiritually? Ha. It’s situational. The song pertains more to emotional recklessness. Maybe in the past, I’ve been most reckless with myself. A lot of this tune—and most of the record—is more cathartic, and a little less reflective of where I’m at now. This thing took a long time to make, and time can change things. Your perspectives change. Ultimately, that’s the story of this whole record. I went in trying to tell one story, but I realized that the story most worth telling was about the time between then and now, and I think that speaks to a lot of people. What can I say? Sometimes you trade your rose colored glasses for blue blockers.

There’s a revolving cast on Faces. But who is in your live band lineup right now?
The band is a six piece, and I’m so excited about everyone I’m sharing the stage with. Chandler Galloway plays keys, Damon Moon plays guitar, Luke Smith is also on guitar, Will Pass plays bass and Kurt Wagner is on drums. I play guitar as well. They all sing like angels. We’re all really fortunate to be playing music together. Everyone is so much fun, but also so thoughtful and real. We’re hitting the road in October, and honestly I’m looking forward to the long rides in the van just as much as the time we spend on stage. We’re all best friends, and it was just so easy to get to this place, somehow. We’re looking forward to sharing this whole vibe on the road, and making some new friends along the way. - CMJ

When it comes to the RIYL (“recommended if you like”) sections of press releases, you take such publicist hyperbole with a grain of salt. So Atlanta native Sydney Eloise is geared towards fans of Natalie Prass, Neko Case, Rilo Kiley, Fleetwood Mac, and Phil Spector, huh? Thing is, when you hear her new track “Tell Me What I Want to Hear”, from Sydney Eloise and the Palms’ debut album Faces, every single one of those boxes gets checked. Timeless and contemporary, it’s a gorgeous, extraordinarily simple track that utilizes a classic pop formula to perfection, making it sound fresh and vibrant. It deserves to be heard, and we are elated to premiere it here at PopMatters.

“When we recorded ‘Tell Me What I Want to Hear’, it really made us feel like the whole thing was starting to take shape,” she says. “It was one of the first songs we worked on that used multiple drum sets, and we kind of just decided that recording the way it’s done live was an idea we were throwing out the window. The studio itself [co-producer Damon Moon’s The Cottage] definitely played a role, from the super late nights we were afforded, to the privacy the hidden-away property gave us. It was easy to forget about jobs, and deadlines. We were able to get lost in the process, and we said yes to trying every idea. Of course, not every idea ended up in the song’s final form, but we ruled things out, which ended up being a huge part of our process as a band.

“The Phil Spector influence is strong on ‘Tell Me What I Want to Hear’, and there’s some Roy Haylee in there, too. Haylee worked with people like Simon & Garfunkel and The Byrds. Me and Damon and [co-producer] Chandler Galloway are all wild about both of their techniques. There’s not a ton of information on Haylee, so you really just have to dig through his catalog. His production style is so subtle. And Spector would use multiple drum sets on a lot of the records he produced, especially in the early ‘60s. Though I think the melodies and tone of ‘Tell Me What I Want to Hear’ are a little more a nod to the Spector-era Beatles recordings. And there’s still a wink to his earlier, more dense work, too. The denseness of those records affects me deeply, and this song is about some things that are pretty dense themselves. Often, when I’m writing about heavy things like that, these huge productions are all any of us can hear. I’m all about the builds, the ebb and flow. I want a song to explain to me, musically, what the singer is trying to communicate through voice and song, and I think this tune landed pretty close, for me.

When I wrote ‘Tell Me What I Want to Hear’, it was a time in my life when I felt like I wasn’t in control of where I was heading. I felt like I was on some kind of leash. The lyric, ‘tell me what I want to hear’ actually changes meaning several times depending on where you are in the song. The sentiment is that you can’t just use people, and allow yourself to be used, and expect some kind of deal to happen on the back end when things go south and, all of a sudden, this investment you think you made was all for nothing. At the end of the whole experience, what I want to hear is just that the whole thing is done—the storm has passed, and my ship still sails. I find myself talking a lot about perspective these days, and how it can change over time, and I think this song is a big example of that. The whole thing, in reality, is just about a couple months in my life, though it was written over a year’s time. My attitude on the situation changed so much after it was over, and it continues to. It’s definitely a common theme in my writing.”

Faces will be released 22 September on the Cottage Recording Co. - PopMatters

Sydney Eloise & The Palms yearn for the golden age of pop—the '60s and '70s when Phil Spector reigned king—and they're doing their best to put a modern spin on it. Mixing that with current influences like Rilo Kiley and up-and-coming indie darling Natalie Prass, Sydney's debut album Faces is filled with lush instrumentation and whimsical vocal harmonies led by her sultry voice. Today we're excited to premiere her latest single, "Comes to an End." Stream the soulful song above and read Sydney's track commentary below.

"It's no secret that classic-pop plays a big role on the whole Faces record, but it's especially evident on 'Comes to and End.' Back in the golden era of pop, no one wanted to listen to a sad song, but they were everywhere. Listen to any Beach Boys song—Brian Wilson and the rest of the band knew how to package a heartbreaker over a groovin' backbeat. Like a lot of songs on my record, “Comes to an End" started simple and a little more melancholy, partially due to the subject matter. This was the first of three songs myself and [producer/engineers] Damon Moon and Chandler Galloway were all collaborating on, and once we were all in the room working it out together, our shared love of McCartney, The Everly Brothers and even classic country all came together and, in a way, it laid the foundation for what would eventually become Faces.

"At the beginning, we thought of this as a studio project, which is not unlike a lot of the vocal groups of the early '60s, which was the birth of classic pop music. I feel like this song could have totally come across as a simple four-track tape recording, but even in these early stages, we found ourselves wanting to add more, and we really ended up tipping our hats to Spector here.

"The collaboration between myself Damon and Chandler has always been based in our friendship, which goes back long before we ever started writing together. Once we jumped into music, though, every idea felt very safe to throw out there, and conversely they weren't afraid to tell me when we should let something go. But they also recognize when the sparks start to happen, and they helped nurture the most early idea into a full-blown, all-stops-out, "bring in the goats!" kind of production. One of the things I love most about these two guys is the way we work together when it's time to track my final vocals. At times when I'm needing inspiration and direction, they're the best at lifting my spirits, and then giving me something ridiculous to listen to and get me excited. Communication is always very open, but seldom needed. We always end up on the same page, and I think that comes across on all of the songs on the new record.

"Perspectives, and how they change over time, completely turned out to be the unexpected theme of Faces. “Comes to an End" could easily be interpreted as a heartbroken lament for things past, but that's not the whole story. In this case, maybe everything did come to an end, but the question is, for whom? It's a bit of a double entendre. When we were beginning to work the song out, I thought it would end up with a kind of longing, brokenhearted tone. But once things started to fall into place, it became clear that it had a lot of parallels to some of these clever golden-era pop songs. They're all so sad, lyrically, but so lighthearted and upbeat in their melodies and production that a deeper meaning is evident. It's almost kind of gothic in a way. They're these tragic scenes, so to speak, but rendered so beautifully that it would seem that there must be something more to appreciate. When something comes to a bitter end, there are a lot of feelings from multiple parties involved, and maybe the narrator in this story, or across the whole record, isn't necessarily speaking from first person, the whole time. Hence the title Faces—there are countless views to any one event."

Faces is slated for a September 22 release on the Cottage Recording Co. and available for pre-order through Bandcamp. In addition, the album will also be available on cassette through Bear Kid Recordings and can be pre-ordered through the label's official website. - PureVolume