- The breakout DJ returns with his first solo record in three years.
- If the day-glo sound of Palms Trax's new EP sounds familiar, that's because you've heard it before. A lot. To Paradise is the kind of throwback Italo-infused house record that labels like Clone and Rush Hour have been putting out for years, many from the producers—Tevo Howard, Legowelt—that helped shape the style. Palms Trax, a breakout artist who returns to Dekmantel for his first solo release since 2016, settled on this formula a while ago, but no EP has felt more committed to it than To Paradise. Dense and melodic, it's ambitious in mood and energy, but not where it counts most: creatively.
That said, DJs in command of open-air dance floors this summer will find enough to like. The Italo bassline on "To Paradise" zaps with an addictive energy, the energy building as chords and pads are layered on top. The same goes for chimes on "Love In Space," another soaring track channeling a bright mood. But both tracks feel like predictable versions of a sound that's been done with more flair many times before. (Legowelt's Star Simulator, released last week, was weirder and punchier.) After waiting three years for a new Palms Trax EP, it would have been nice to hear him drift away from an established sound—not closer.
TracklistA1 To Paradise
B1 Love In Space
B2 Heron