Dry Food

Dry Food
Studio album by
Palehound
Released14 August 2015
RecordedOctober 2014
StudioRare Book Room, Brooklyn
Length28:37
LabelExploding in Sound, Heavenly
ProducerGabe Wax
Palehound chronology
Dry Food
(2015) 		A Place I'll Always Go
(2017)
Singles from Dry Food
  1. "Molly"
    Released: June 2015

Dry Food is the debut album by US band Palehound. It was released on 14 August 2015 on record label Exploding in Sound.

Background and release

[edit]

Ellen Kempner released their debut EP as Palehound in October 2013 on Exploding In Sound.[1] After its release Kempner dropped out of Sarah Lawrence College, went through a break-up, and moved from New York to Boston, during which time they wrote the songs for Dry Food.[2][3]

Dry Food was recorded in October 2014.[3] Kempner wrote all the musical arrangements, and played all instrumental parts except the drums.[3] Lead single "Molly" was released in June 2015, and Stereogum noted a similarity to the sound of Kempner's roommate Sadie Dupuis of Speedy Ortiz.[4] In 2016 Heavenly Recordings re-released the single as a 7", with a cover of Kelly Clarkson's Miss Independent as the B-side.[5]

The album was released in the US on 14 August 2015 via Exploding In Sound, and in the UK on 4 March 2016 via Heavenly.[6][7] In February and March 2016 Palehound toured the UK and Europe to support the album.[8]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.4/10[9]
Metacritic78/100[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
ConsequenceB[12]
DIY[13]
Loud and Quiet7/10[14]
MusicOMH[15]
Paste7.8/10[16]
Pitchfork8.0/10[17]
Record Collector[18]
Rolling Stone[19]
Spin7/10[20]

On review aggregator Metacritic the album holds a score of 78/100, based on 11 reviews, indicating a "generally favorable" reception.[10]

Mike Katzif of NPR praised Kempner's skill as a guitarist, and wrote that "Dry Food is the sound of Ellen Kempner coming into her own musically."[21] Will Hermes of Rolling Stone wrote that Kempner "plays the hell out of a guitar",[19] and James Reed of the Boston Globe also praised their "guitar prowess."[22]

Track listing

[edit]

All songs written by Ellen Kempner.

No.TitleLength
1."Molly"02:52
2."Healthier Folk"03:11
3."Easy"03:17
4."Cinnamon"03:34
5."Dry Food"04:28
6."Dixie"03:29
7."Cushioned Caging"03:05
8."Seekonk"04:41
Total length:28:37

Personnel

[edit]
  • Ellen Kempner – guitar, bass, vocals, writing, arrangements
  • Jesse Weiss – drums (tracks 1, 7, 8)
  • Max Almario – drums (tracks 4, 5)
  • Max Kupperberg – drums (tracks 2, 3, 4)
  • Sam Owens – keyboards (tracks 2, 5)

Technical

Artistic

  • Ellen Kempner – artwork
  • Caitlin Bechdel – layout

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Claire Lobenfeld (2013-10-15), "Stream Palehound Bent Nail EP (Stereogum Premiere)", stereogum.com, Stereogum, retrieved 2024-05-01
  2. ^ Caitlin White (2015-08-06), "Stream Palehound Dry Food", stereogum.com, Stereogum, archived from the original on 2023-12-07, retrieved 2024-05-01
  3. ^ a b c Jessica Goodman (2016-03-03), "Interview: Palehound talk debut album 'Dry Food' and its "portrait of insecurity"", diymag.com, DIY, archived from the original on 2024-05-01, retrieved 2024-05-01
  4. ^ James Rettig (2015-06-18), "Palehound – "Molly" (Stereogum Premiere)", stereogum.com, Stereogum, archived from the original on 2023-12-05, retrieved 2024-05-01
  5. ^ "Molly on the Heavenly Recordings webstore", heavenlyemporium.com, Heavenly Recordings, archived from the original on 2024-05-01, retrieved 2024-05-01
  6. ^ Jessica Goodman (2015-08-07), "Palehound stream debut album Dry Food in full", thelineofbestfit.com, The Line of Best Fit, archived from the original on 2024-04-18, retrieved 2024-05-01
  7. ^ Laurence Day (2015-11-16), "Palehound sign to Heavenly for UK release of debut LP Dry Food", thelineofbestfit.com, The Line of Best Fit, archived from the original on 2024-04-18, retrieved 2024-05-01
  8. ^ Jessica Goodman (2016-01-08), "Palehound announce UK/EU tour dates", thelineofbestfit.com, The Line of Best Fit, archived from the original on 2016-04-19, retrieved 2024-05-01
  9. ^ "Palehound Dry Food", anydecentmusic.com, AnyDecentMusic?, retrieved 2024-05-01
  10. ^ a b "Dry Food by Palehound", metacritic.com, Metacritic, retrieved 2024-05-01
  11. ^ Dry Food at AllMusic
  12. ^ Adam Kivel (2015-08-11), "Album Review: Palehound – Dry Food", consequence.net, Consequence, archived from the original on 2023-06-09, retrieved 2024-05-01
  13. ^ Jessica Goodman (2016-03-04), "Album Review Palehound - Dry Food", diymag.com, DIY, archived from the original on 2024-05-01, retrieved 2024-05-01
  14. ^ Joe Goggins (2016-03-01), "Dry Food (review)", loudandquiet.com, Loud and Quiet, archived from the original on 2017-04-15, retrieved 2024-05-01
  15. ^ Sam Shepherd (2016-03-07), "Palehound – Dry Food", musicomh.com, MusicOMH, archived from the original on 2016-04-06, retrieved 2024-05-01
  16. ^ Art Tavana (2015-08-15), "Palehound: Dry Food", pastemagazine.com, Paste, archived from the original on 2022-12-02, retrieved 2024-05-01
  17. ^ Laura Snapes (2015-08-17), "Dry Food (review)", pitchfork.com, Pitchfork, archived from the original on 2015-08-18, retrieved 2024-05-01
  18. ^ Mischa Pearlman (2016-02-24), "Dry Food (review)", recordcollectormag.com, Record Collector, archived from the original on 2024-05-01, retrieved 2024-05-01
  19. ^ a b Will Hermes (2015-08-14), "Dry Food (review)", rollingstone.com, Rolling Stone, archived from the original on 2023-08-22, retrieved 2024-05-01
  20. ^ Colin Joyce (2015-08-10), "Review: Palehound Ties Indie Rock in Knots on 'Dry Food'", spin.com, Spin, archived from the original on 2015-08-12, retrieved 2024-05-01
  21. ^ Mike Katzif (2015-08-05), "Review: Palehound, 'Dry Food'", npr.org, NPR, archived from the original on 2015-08-07, retrieved 2024-05-01
  22. ^ James Reed (2015-08-13), "Album review: Palehound, 'Dry Food'", bostonglobe.com, The Boston Globe, archived from the original on 2015-08-14, retrieved 2024-05-01
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