Looking back through past posts, I was astonished I had not written about Malcolm Palmer. In 2005, he released Between the Womb and the Tomb, which was a beautiful combination of spoken word over an rhythmic acoustic folk. Lyrically, he is brash, honest and not something everyone will like or appreciate. Some of my favorite songs from the first album where Useless Blues, The Sermon and Awkward Situation. The way he structures songs, by telling a story and causing what repetition exists in the chorus to develop with more meaning as the song continues, is something I wish was more common in music.
In June he released a new single and you can check out videos for them on YouTube or hear them on MySpace. Favorites is great fun, but not in his normal storytelling format, so I suggest Polly Prayer or Gasoline. The latter song is actually on a compilation album called Acoustic Chicago, which is also a great selection of artists. I hope that he has some more projects underway and it isn't another 4 years before he resurfaces.
