Album Reviews

Fathom XIX

Palace Law

2017-11-26

rock clichés. There’s maybe an overabundance of guitar solos and silly machismo, the mixes can leave the album feeling a little sludgy and indistinct, and there’s even a backwards song designed to provoke 1980s mothers to interpretations of Satanist messages. But I for one will always give the benefit of the doubt to bands that sound like they sincerely love rock ‘n roll. Fathom XIX hits these songs properly hard, resembling early Mudhoney more than anyone else. And for an album as focused on symmetry as “Palace Law,” the second half is a substantially more interesting listen than the first. The band mixes up their pacing and becomes less concerned with domineering riffs. I would, however, like for someone to explain to singer Darin Wiltse that when talking about gold, karats are units of purity rather than weight, making the chorus “feel like 24 karats of solid gold” redundant.

Pros: Riffs, velocity.

Cons: Sounds like GRD will be putting them on heavy rotation very soon.

Primest Cuts: “Solid Gold” “Bring Me The World”

review by Kollen

Quick Links:

• Fathom XIX on Bandcamp