Every once in a while you come across an album that apparentely does everything in its power to remain unnoticed. Palaxy Tracks' Twelve Rooms is one of those records. I tried searching Google for a review in Dutch, but there were no results to be shown. Even a search for an English review didn't pruduce half as much as I would have thought. So, in a spirit of "every little helps" and "pearls before swine", here's my two cents. Because I happen to think it's a wonderful record and worth every bit of media attention it can possibly grab.
Truth be told, they kinda got themselves to blame for it. If you're making this kind of melancholic, delicate en modest guitarrock, full blown media exposure is hard to come by. There are however 12 pretty vacant rooms available in which it is good to dwell. Unlike eg. Coldplay, who suffocate their songs in useless grandeur, Palaxy Tracks succeed in giving the songs room to breathe and glow with a gentle warmth. Let's take Grey Snakes, it starts of as a gentle rocksong, almost grinding to a halt after about two minutes, before flaring out in a kind of post-rock finale.
Singer/songwriter Brandon Durham has got a pleasant voice which reminds me of Ben Gibbard's phrasing, but in a Lou Barlow kinda way. It's not the greatest voice you'll ever hear, but is suits the music perfectly. Speaking of Death Cab for Cutie, Lamplighter wouldn't be amiss on one of their albums. Other names that spring to mind are Unwed Sailor, Great Lake Swimmers (the quiet Me and you and him), Tortoise (Twelve Rooms) or early R.E.M. There's even room for the odd countrytwang (Camera and The Clarion way) or civilised rock (Up my sleeve, Legs on the ladder en Dead Language).
“Like a snapshot taken at twilight, their music is a photograph of a landscape caught at perpetual dusk.”, that's what I found on the website of these guys. Combine that with references to the work of Raymond Carver, the excellent cover of Cohen's Seems so long ago, Nancy and your once in a lifetime opportunity to be able to say "I was one of the first to discover this band" and you no longer have any excuse left why you don't already own a copy of this album.