Fake Palms Share New Single Civil Liberties; Lemons LP Out September 16th Via Hand Drawn Dracula

Fake Palms, the project of Toronto-based musician, Michael le Riche is today sharing his new single, “Civil Liberties” – it comes as the final advance preview of his new record, Lemons which is set for release via Hand Drawn Dracula (Young Guv, Tallies, Tess Parks) on September 16. Lemons has found support so far from Brooklyn Vegan, Exclaim, CBC Radio and more for the early singles, “Visions” and “Satellite” – it arrives as the third full-length from Fake Palms and reintroduces the project after a short break in which le Riche focused on his electro-synth project, Sauna.

The haunting “Civil Liberties” comes as another refreshing reminder of le Riche’s smart ability to meld outsider-pop with post-punk, coating his sound in this metallic, slick sheen. It summons the sounds of The Strokes circa Room On Fire, Iceage and Omni with a pummelling rhythm track tied to a tingly, soaring chorus that’s impossible to shake after first exposure. “Civil Liberties” manages the trick of sounding wistful and dystopian at the same time. “This record is the most direct thing I’ve ever done,” says Le Riche. “All the distorted guitars playing 16th-note riffs in different time signatures, washes of noise and buried vocals are basically gone. In their place we made a record that’s lean and a punch to the gut.”

Michael le Riche called upon a veritable who’s who of Toronto indie-dom for Lemons, drawing from the ranks of Dilly Dally (Ben Reinhartz), Ducks Ltd (Evan Lewis), Sauna (Braeden Craig), and Twist (Laura Hermiston). Taking to Candle Recording studio with long-time contributor, co-producer, and engineer Josh Korody (Breeze, Beliefs), the songwriting dove headlong even further into dream-math-punk sensibilities.

Just the third proper release from a one-man band that le Riche routinely manifests in the flesh onstage in Toronto as a sort of amorphous, all-star underground-Toronto noise-pop “supergroup,” this is an album that fully derives its antisocial scorch through the increased clarity and precision of the Fake Palms vision. Lemons is slippery, spiky, not a little psych-y and more than a little lyrically sour, not to mention frequently, subtly tricked-out from a minimalist, nerdo-instrumental perspective that doesn’t demand that you dork out over the arrangements but will always leave the option open if and when you decide to do so.

The new record evolves from the 00’s angular guitar rhythms that defined the post-punk foundations of Fake Palms’ first two releases. Lemons switches out some of the irregular time-signatures of 70’s college rock and first-take recording approach, this time moving with confidence into more dissonant yet accessible directions of brighter melodic structures.

You can pre-order Fake Palms’ Lemons here