Songwriter El Kempner turns pandemic-era stress into nice songs
The most recent launch from Palehound is one hell of a journey. The album was impressed by the “apocalypse highway journey” throughout the U.S. that the indie Boston band took mid-tour to get safely again dwelling because the pandemic hit in early 2020. The stress and stress of that second informs the album, even when the music’s aren’t particularly concerning the pandemic. In a bigger sense, the best journey on Eye on the Bat is Palehound’s musical evolution: they’re sharper, punkier, and extra fearless — roaring within the face of change.
Adventurous songwriting has all the time been par for the course for Palehound, the brainchild of queer singer-songwriter, El Kempner. Over the course of 4 full-length releases, Kempner’s vivid lyrics and knack for fusing rock sensibilities, punk power and folky softness have helped make their band friends of beloved artists like Pup, Massive Thief, and boygenius (who they’ll be opening reveals for this fall). But, Kemper’s directness, empathy and intimacy are all their very own.
The pent-up angst of writing these songs in lockdown comes by means of on the album’s strongest, grittiest numbers. “The Clutch” is pushed by bracing riffs that echo the “punch within the intestine” feeling Kempner sings about as she describes a blistering break-up. On the twangy, bass-heavy “Independence Day,” Kempner tackles the vacillating emotions of ending a long run relationship, with sharp imagery and a wide-open, irresistibly intelligent refrain. Opener “Good Intercourse” is available in sizzling with a staccato strum that builds stress earlier than the power tapers off, mirroring the sense of confused want in her lyrics. “Unhealthy intercourse makes a superb joke that anybody can get,” Kempner quips, “However good intercourse makes a superb joke that’s solely humorous for those who had been there,” she reveals.
The album isn’t all rock aggression. The title of “U Need It, U Bought It” riffs on Younger MC’s pop-rap traditional “Bust A Transfer,” and has a bouncy synth line that pushes towards its powerful guitar half. And the dance-y “Head Like Soup” feels prefer it might’ve been on an LCD Soundsystem file. A part of the enchantment of Eye on the Bat’s is its sense of resilience. Within the title monitor, Kempner flips a flip of phrase with cheeky, but eloquent knowledge: “Suckers will all inform you to maintain expecting the ball / However we all know higher than that/ Maintain your eye on the bat.” Palehound is able to swing at something life throws their manner.
