Pal

Reviews

Pal Under Your Radar cassette

I’m a bit ashamed to say that I wasn’t familiar with the music of the Cleveland, Ohio four-piece PAL prior to Under Your Radar. But oh boy, I absolutely adore everything about this release. Throughout the EP, crunchy drums and tasteful bass lines lay down a very danceable foundation, while highly modulated guitar melodies and minimal synth licks keep a tight call-and-response dynamic that sounds like you’re listening to a playful yet heated argument. To top it all off, the lyricism and delivery of the vocals perfectly encapsulate the manic nature of the band’s very unique and quirky sound. Under Your Radar reminds me of C.C.T.V. and SPLLIT with its sonic palette, mannerisms, and upside-down approach to songwriting. Seems like PAL released this cassette directly to my 2025 year-end top ten. Just perfect—no notes.

Frizbee / Pal Splat split cassette

Rust Belt split cassette between PAL from Cleveland, OH and FRIZBEE from Indianapolis, IN. Let’s start with PAL. We already know ‘em, we already love ‘em. Kooky, artsy, hilariously insightful, heavy on the synth, and catchy as all hell. Their first cassette made my 2023 year-end top ten list, and their side of this release might be even better. Two originals and a cover of “96 Tears” by ? AND THE MYSTERIANS, and all three songs are absolutely killer. Moving on to FRIZBEE. Another three songs on their side of the split, also two originals and a cover, the cover being “I’m a Bug” by the URINALS. As far as I can tell, this is the first release for FRIZBEE and it’s a pretty cool start, tho after listening to the PAL side, FRIZBEE kind of comes off like a less kooky, less witty version of PAL. The inevitable issue with splits—the sides will be compared and there will always be a preferred side. In this case, advantage PAL, whereas on their own, a FRIZBEE demo would likely seem all the cooler with nobody else snagging all the accolades.

Pal Pals cassette

Kooky, driving synth punk from Cleveland, Ohio. What a debut release! Completely unhinged subject matter and vocals on top of bopping, herky-jerky eggy punk stuff. It gets a little too artsy for me at times, but these songs have a way of feeling incredibly zany without losing their pop sensibility. I think this is great and plan on listening to it quite a few times. Excited to see what comes next for PAL.