Palace | Ultrasound | CD 580

While writing the first batch of songs for the album, frontman Leo Wyndham's partner suffered a late miscarriage, which left the band's chief song-writer bereft and adrift. 'Ultrasound' naturally became an open diary of their year-long struggle from devastation to deliverance. Album opener 'When Everything Was Lost', is chilling ozone rock with a hint of Bon Iver, capturing what Leo calls 'that initial bombshell feeling'. From there, 'Ultrasound' picks its way through the wreckage, seeking light, with the languid and lustrous pop-gaze trio of 'Bleach', 'Nightmares & Ice Cream' and 'Rabid Dog'. The hallucinogenic 'Nightmares...' was based on a dream Leo had about seeing his partner in the afterlife: 'It was a very beautiful abstract thing that we were together and there was this total acceptance of what had happened and it was euphoric,' he says. The final stretch signifies a more reflective period. 'Say The Words' acknowledges the societal pressures on women to raise families and their resilience in the struggles of motherhood, 'How Far We've Come' confronts ageing and mortality. Epic album closer 'Goodnight Farewell' sums up the future. Sonically corroded, beaten, but standing proud, it finds Leo finally attaining a sense of peace.

TRACKLIST

1. When Everything Was Lost
2. Son
3. Bleach
4. Nightmares & Ice Cream
5. Rabid Dog
6. Make You Proud
7. Inside My Chest
8. Love Is a Precious Thing
9. Cocoon
10. Say the Words
11. How Far We've Come
12. All We've Ever Wanted
13. Goodnight, Farewell