James Grundler – vocals, guitar
Tommy Black – bass guitar
Andy Blunda – guitar, keyboards
Florian Reinert – drums
It is a rare thing when a band takes on life. The songs of Paloalto deal with real life, all its consequences and conundrums, moments of exhilaration and misery, life lived with the blinders off.
On Paloalto’s sophomore effort, heroes and villains, the band forgoes popular themes of self-pity and revenge for tales of experience and introspection. Paloalto put their brains and baggage into the music, producing an album that reflects both good times and bad. The beautiful melodies, epic arrangements and soaring themes of heroes and villains reveal a band charting a fresh course through the waters of cash-only creativity and cookie-cutter demographics.
While listening to the Fifth Dimension’s Greatest Hits, James Grundler recalls the inspiration for heroes and villains. “During the making of this record we went through personnel changes, we questioned who we were as a band. A lot of our songs are really tied in with figuring out where our place is.”
But while Grundler, Black, Blunda, and Reinert explore the beauty beyond the bombast, their songs are not morose. Incorporating influences as diverse as Pink Floyd, Swervedriver and Catherine Wheel, Paloalto make music streaked with sunlight and flecked with glimmers of a life less ordinary.
“Breathe In” pulses over a majestic groove, with swirling keyboards and skyscraping guitars matching Grundler’s advice that when you “feel heavy, make it steady, that’s all you’ve got. Breathe in.” “Fade Out/In” recalls Smashing Pumpkins not only for its mesmeric groove and blaring guitars, but its barbed lyrics: “I don’t want to fade out/fade in like everybody should/I don’t want to fade out, like everything before.” Featuring a riotous Andy Blunda guitar solo, “Fade In Fade Out” nails your ears to the wall. “Last Way Out” is gentle, lyrical and modern psychedelia for the anti-flower power set. The ethereal “Throwing Stones” seeps into your brain like a lost summer day, chimerical guitars and sympathetic strings underpinning Grundler’s breezy falsetto as the song rises with increased strength. When darkness is near, stand fast is the message behind “What You Are,” a song about determination and self-invention.
Throughout heroes and villains, Producer Rick Rubin’s steady hand reveals Paloalto’s great natural resource by paying remarkable attention to detail in every track. This is evident in Grundler’s passionate pop songs that have caustic, emotional vocals, Blunda’s whiplash guitars, Black’s fluid grooves and Reinert’s tight drumming.
“[Real life] is what this whole record is about,” says Grundler. “Every song is therapeutic in a different way and tell stories to help work out the inner demons.”
Back in 2000, serendipity visited Paloalto when Grundler’s songs found a favorable ear in Rick Rubin. Impressed with their still unfinished demo, Rubin visited Paloalto’s rehearsal studio and was stunned with what he heard. Enchanted by their crystalline melodies and slightly cynical worldview, Rubin quickly signed the group to American Recordings. Rubin notes, “James has a truly unique gift for melody and a tremendous voice to back it up. This is a lethal combination. heroes and villains really pounds the point home.”
About their sound, Grundler relates, “We are fans of My Bloody Valentine, Swervedriver, the whole shoegazing movement. We like that wall of guitars approach and the melodicism. We also count The Beach Boys and Pink Floyd as having great musical impact for us.”
The Paloalto buzz quickly grew amongst music fans as well as musicians. Stone Temple Pilots’ Scott Weiland said, “Paloalto are a beautiful lush adventurous pop hybrid with something much needed in music today.passion.” About Paloalto’s debut, Sugar Ray’s Mark McGrath noted, “Paloalto has made the record Radiohead should have made. The first brilliant American record of the millennium. A semblance of brilliance in a sea of shit.” Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit remarked, “Paloalto is a real band with a real sound and real songs! Make no mistake that this
band has credibility and a definite career.”
Although artists and critics praised Paloalto shortly after their debut arrived in stores, the band became lost in a label shuffle that left them ignored. With a combination of crash songwriting, soul searching and mental realignment, Paloalto and Rubin used the pain of past performance to infuse heroes and villains with uncommon clarity. Paloalto has matured, their evolution obvious on every track.
“I expected so much on the first record and when it didn’t happen I was disappointed,” says Grundler. “This record was really difficult, I had to dig deep and pull out a lot ghosts that I didn’t want to contend with. I wanted to shut down and shut everyone out and never come out again.”
heroes and villains is an album about triumph surpassing turmoil, of majestic melodies and life affirming themes. “We are a strong band now. The trials and tribulations really brought us together as a group; that is the way it should be. You can hear it in the music, the level of musicianship has really risen, we are more of a unit. The musicality is stronger and you can hear the emotion.” Paloalto has come out, and at full force.
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