Album Review: Black Friday by Palehound

Palehound's third full-length album arrives as a triumph for the Boston trio who, of late, have gained ground in the DIY-rock scene. On Black Friday, Ellen Kempner, Larz Brogan and Jesse Weiss have delivered a fully realized, thoughtful body of work without sacrificing any of the grit that made earlier releases so viscerally rugged.   Opening track "Company" is a near-perfect foreword to an understated yet insightful catalogue of tracks focused on human connection. In harnessing the innate power of sensitivity, Palehound illuminate their ….

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Ellen Kempner continues to engage more deeply with themes of love and compassion on Black Friday, the third long-player from her Boston-based combo Palehound. Originally launched as a solo bedroom project back in 2013, she spent a few years making Palehound into a sturdy indie rock trio, though it's still her voice and vision that comprise the heart and soul of each release. Without introducing any dramatic changes to her approach, Black Friday continues to lean toward Kempner's more contemplative side, eschewing some of the rowdier fuzz-pop tendencies of earlier releases.

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A lot of Palehound's last album, 2017's A Place I'll Always Go, took place indoors. Bandleader Ellen Kempner set her scenes in bedrooms and in grocery stores, singing tightly wound vocal melodies over wiry, anxious guitar riffs. On the Boston band's third album, Kempner breaks down the walls. Black Friday reaches far toward the hazy horizon, letting the nervous energy of Palehound's first two LPs mount and unspool.

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