Propeller Palms are a new ten-piece outfit from Waterford featuring three brass players and three females singers. Lead vocals are by singer-guitarist Paul Butler, once of Neuro. Their debut album All In This Together sees them blend elements of hard-edged rock, blues, funk, white soul and black soul. There’s such density to the sound you hear fresh nuances on repeated listens, and it has a live feel you rarely get in studio efforts.
The album opens with the title track, which evokes Springsteen as well as The Who’s ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’. ‘Get It Right’ has a frenetic drive that never eases as Butler pushes the band to scale the heights. The brass intro on ‘No Smokin’ No Jokin’’ leads into a funky workout with a wailing girly chorus. They shift down a gear for ‘Rainbow’ with its sturdy Stones guitars and classy harmonies, before ‘We Will Meet Again’ settles into a tasty bluesy ballad with lusty brass and soaring back-up vocals.
This debut album is charged with an exultant energy that makes it crackle from start to finish. The result is one of the most rewarding Irish debuts I’ve heard for quite some time.