In 2015 Palehound released their debut, Dry Food and have since started to build a substantial following. A Place I’ll Always Go, follows this record up, possibly a more cohesive record, still instantly identifiable to the sound established on Dry Food, however, A Place I’ll Always Go starts to reveal a little more of Ellen Kempner. Possibly a more open record, she has spoken in interviews about making this album a record as opposed to a collection of songs as well as tacking loss. It’s a therapeutic record with a very honest approach to the subjects it talks about. It has a refreshing honesty and an attitude of moving on and trying to find happiness again.

A Place I’ll Always Go grabs you from the first listen and sucks you in almost straight away. It’s not a record of instant ear-grabbing singles though. As the record progresses it gets bigger, when you reach track four ‘If You Met Her’ the record is pretty close to flawless. Not to suggest the opening is weak, it starts as a way of opening up, and when the main themes of the album arrive you find yourself already immersed in the themes.

The record manages to keep what’s essentially quite a raw sound, while still sounding like it’s got a big production behind it. ‘Carnations’ is a really good example of this. It sounds like a live take but every part is balanced and sitting well in the mix. Palehound’s sound makes me think they’d be a great live act as well. Sadly, I’ve never seen them but the album has the feel of a live band behind it. The record has lots of sounds of the same kind of music behind it. It’s essentially a rock record but sounds lo-fi, like a DIY band, it also sounds thick and sleek. To succinctly sum it up I’d say it sounds like an incredibly well produced Bandcamp album.

To pick a favourite off the album I’d hover confidently over ‘If You Met Her’. It’s a song that develops and builds upon itself so naturally. But I don’t think a favourite song is a fair thing for an album like this. I don’t think there’s a bad song on the album, nor is there any material stronger or weaker than any other. A Place I’ll Always Go in short is fantastic. There’s no filler, no songs that miss the mark. Every song is great in its own way. For me, I love how ‘If You Met Her’ sounds very dry and under-produced and then the chorus adds a whole other part to the range of the song. It takes a while for the chorus vocal to kick in, which makes it all the more warming when it does.

The outro of the record is beautiful and calmer than the rest. ‘Backseat’ in particular highlights this and does a good job of transitioning to the end of the record. ‘Feeling Fruit’ shows just how effective the smallest details can be, in particular the microphone technique. It sounds fragile and each element sounds like it could fall apart at any moment, but it’s held together so well with the vocal and guitar. The vocal sound on this song gives it a great tension. Throughout the album actually the vocal tracks are all put together really well. There are loads of moments that give a new detail or a new sound that all come from where Ellen Kempner is singing into the microphone. It’s this kind of attention to detail that makes all the vocals on the album stand out so much.

The past few months have seen the release of some really brilliant albums. A Place I’ll Always Go is definitely among them. Stereogum has declared it one of the best releases of the year. I’d find it very hard to disagree with that. A Place I’ll Always Go is a record with so much to it. It’s beautiful and tense, aggressive and understated too. I think my best of 2017 list is forming, and this may top it.
Chris Middleton

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