Giant Palm [Loser Edition]

by Naima Bock

Overview

Not long after South London art punks Goat Girl released their self-titled debut album, Naima Bock departed the band for a change of pace -- and that's what she gives her listeners on Giant Palm. Bock wrote the songs that make up her debut album while she took a break from playing in bands, and the time she spent in meditative pursuits like studying archaeology, working as a gardener, and hiking can be heard as much as the Brazilian music she absorbed as a young girl living in Sao Paolo (a velvety interpretation of the bossa nova standard "O Morro" closes the album) and the early 20th century folk she loved in her youth (echoed in "Enter the House"'s bittersweet harmonies). When Bock recorded Giant Palm with her friends during the early days of the COVID-19 global pandemic, she didn't have any concrete plans to release it, and this lack of expectations only adds to the album's freeness. During her Goat Girl days, she was no stranger to mixing and matching genres, but the way Bock uses pop, classical, electronic, folk, and jazz elements feels more intentional and more spontaneous on songs like "Toll," which moves from pastoral flute and guitar to stately strings and brass in a confident sweep. One of the first people she shared these songs with was producer/arranger Joel Burton, who helps her express the entwined needs for solitude and belonging that make Giant Palm so genuine. Nowhere is this more apparent than on the album's stunning title track, which begins with low, droning synths that gradually lift Bock "high above it all" in a moment of perfect epiphany. Later, the memories that haunt her on "Campervan"'s violin-bedecked waltz illustrate the cost of this kind of freedom. Burton and Bock's creative chemistry gives Giant Palm's internal monologues a widescreen treatment (some songs feature more than 30 performers), and the results are particularly striking on "Every Morning," a poignant call and response between Bock and a chorus where she reflects, "It is funny how life can be when everyone leaves/Alone, but not lonely." Though she took a roundabout path to make and release Giant Palm, the way Bock shares her profound moments and little insights with a generous spirit makes for an often brilliant debut. ~ Heather Phares

Product Details

Release Date:	07/01/2022
Label:	Sub Pop
UPC:	0098787148602
Rank:	82251

Tracks

1. Giant Palm
2. Toll
3. Every Morning
4. Dim Dum
5. Working
6. Natural
7. Campervan
8. Enter the House
9. Instrumental
10. O Morro

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Naima Bock   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Percussion
Oliver Hamilton   Violin
Victor Bock   Cuica
Jack Burke   Choir/Chorus
Alex McKenzie   Flute,Sax (Alto)
Mike O'Malley   Bass
Victoria Hamblett   Choir/Chorus,Vocals (Background)
Lottie Pendlebury   Choir/Chorus
Ellie Rose Davies   Guitar,Choir/Chorus,Vocals (Background)
Joel Burton   Piano,Guitar,Keyboards,Percussion,Electronics,Synthesizer,Vocals (Background)
Liam Ramsden   Vocals (Background)
Freddy Wordsworth   Trumpet
Magdalena McLean   Violin
Holy Whittaker   Choir/Chorus
Cassidy Hansen   Drums,Percussion,Choir/Chorus,Vocals (Background)
Emile Hinton   Choir/Chorus
Finn Carter   Clarinet
Josh Lostin   Choir/Chorus
Meitar Wegman   Sax (Tenor)
Mimi O'Corroll   Choir/Chorus
Nathan Piggott   Sax (Tenor),Sax (Soprano)
Oscar Browne   Vocals (Background)
Sacha Lacey   Choir/Chorus
Theo Abramson   Choir/Chorus
Yasmine Harrosh   Choir/Chorus
Zarah Rose-Hinton   Choir/Chorus,Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Carlos Lyra   Composer
Vinicius de Moraes   Composer
Antonio Carlos Jobim   Composer
Gianfrancesco Guarnieri   Composer
Victor Bock   Engineer,Producer
Jason Mitchell   Mastering
Joel Abramson   Composer
Bridget Beorse   Design
Syd Kemp   Mixing,Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Naima Redina-Bock   Composer
Joel Burton   Arranger,Composer,Engineer,Producer,Photography
Naima Bock   Arranger,Composer,Engineer,Lyricist,Producer
Liam Ramsden   Engineer,Vocal Engineer
Cassidy Hansen   Photography
Peter Carrick   Artwork