Lambeth, London’s Palma Violets earned a reputation for raucous live shows, both on the stage and in the crowd. Sophomore release Danger In the Club can’t deliver all of that, but does deliver.
A high-spirited, pub-drunk rock runs throughout The Club, from the opening a-cappella singing of “Sweet Violets” on. There is a joyous attitude to such pieces as “Hollywood (I Got It)”, “Girl, You Couldn’t Do Much Better On the Beach”, “Secrets of America”, “Gout! Gang! Go”, and more. There are also stabs at other ideas – the acoustic sway of “The Jacket Song”, mock-horror elements in the title track and “Peter and the Gun” – but Danger is firmly rooted in the pub & the guitar.
All musical acts are either better on record or live (what are the odds that they’ll be equal?), but that’s not to denigrate what’s often the lesser of two goods. Danger In the Club doesn’t quite replicate the danger of Palma Violets live in a club, but it does a strong job.
Palma Violets – Gout! Gang! Go!
