Open Palms is an emo band hailing from South East London that was founded in the summer of 2021 by four friends who bonded over their shared passion for guitar-driven music. Taking inspiration from groups like Title Fight, Joyce Manor, Boxcar Racer, and Alkaline Trio, the quartet delivers infectious punk rock melodies that are guaranteed to linger in the minds of their listeners.
Their latest EP, ‘I Hope You Find Your Tree’, which was released on March 3rd, 2023, via INiiT Records, builds upon the foundation that the band laid with their 2022 release ‘New Fiction’. The EP combines lively, straightforward songwriting with lyrics that explore feelings of detachment and sorrow mixed with a balance of cynicism and authenticity.
In anticipation of their upcoming hometown performance at Camden’s Fiddlers Elbow on March 12th, Open Palms’ guitarist, Jake Idèo-Moffatt, offers a detailed track-by-track breakdown of ‘I Hope You Find Your Tree.’
Falcon Punch
A lot of our favourite records start with these punchy, high-energy songs, like “Bleed American” by Jimmy Eat World or “Intro” by New Found Glory, so we wanted to start the EP off with that vibe.
Musically, Falcon Punch is a combination of shoegaze influences with a faster, hardcore sound. In not much more than 2 minutes it blends driving punk drums and power chords, with spacey delays and slide guitar parts.
We’ve been opening with it live and it’s a great song to get us (and hopefully everyone else) in the mood for an intense, sweaty punk rock show.
Animal Crossing, Bitter Admin
Pop-punk music with lyrics that were angrier, darker, more pissed off, were something we all gravitated towards when we were younger. Albums like From Here to Infirmary are part of the reason we play the music we do – and also why you’ll hear multiple vocal lines on songs like this and “…Tree”
Lyrically this song deals with watching the US Capitol riots and more generally with the rise of antivaxxers, lying right-wing demagogues and feeble governments desperate to appease them.
How I Learned to Keep Being Afraid and Love the Inside
Short songs are great. The worst thing a song can do is overstay it’s welcome and some of the best songs say everything they need to in 60 seconds or less. One of our collective favourites to play live as well.
I Hope You Find Your Tree
This song gave us the chance to explore some different ground sonically. Post-hardcore, screamo, [insert your preferred sub-genre here] is big influence on us and our songwriting, and some of that is present here in the dynamic shifts between the verses and choruses.
Support Open Palms and pick up a copy of ‘I Hope You Find Your Tree’ here.
