A song that has lived a couple of lives before its release, “Palimpsest” by Vacant Shores wastes no time in immersing its listener in warm synths and ethereal vocals that exist in the in-between space of comfortable nostalgia and a wistful sentimentality. There’s a stillness to the track as it stretches lazily, almost content in the knowledge that it does not have to hurry. It’s got the space to breathe and it uses every ounce of this. Production is lush without ever being cluttered; every last detail from the heavy reverb-laden guitars to the chilled electronic beats feels like it’s there exactly where it needs to be. It’s a song that plays like a distant memory that cannot be escaped, which is the perfect association for the song’s title itself.
Lyrically the song touches on the concept of searching for the ‘new’ while constantly trying to layer over the same old thing. It’s not really a song that wants to sound definitive either in its lyrical content or its overall tone. Suzy Alderton’s vocals hover on the edge of your consciousness, personal and impersonal all at once. There is an eeriness to her vocal delivery at points that harkens at loss and growth and the grey area between the two. It feels bare but not stripped; like a song that has been through some life, a sentiment that holds especially true in the case of this track given the iterations it took to become the final product.
Vacant Shores have not wasted their time during their long hiatus between releases as they’ve pulled through with a strong debut single as well as an entirely new lineup that has only added to their already stellar music. There is a renewed vibrancy in their sound that exists in the same dance with the atmospheric complexity of their earlier work that made it so memorable. “Palimpsest” is not only a track to their upcoming EP, it is a testament to the experience of life that it is being and inescapably edited but that the core of something always remains. Vacant Shores have come back with a beautifully nostalgic sound that is both sonically present and at the same time timelessly haunting; if the rest of the EP is a fair indication of what to expect from the band going forward, they are a project you’ll want to follow.
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