“Sometimes, our brain knows something before our body can catch up; sometimes it takes the shock of something physical for our mind to accept the truth. By cataloging the painful truth of these moments, Palehound offers a reminder of how it feels to survive them.” - NPR

“'Eye on the Bat' is without a doubt the most vulnerable work of Kempner’s career…It’s focused and eloquent in its naked exposure of an artist working through the minutiae of fizzled love in real time.” - FLOOD

"From heavy, AC/DC-style rock anthems to subdued synthesizer ballads, the universe of Palehound has never felt so cosmic." - Paste

Palehound's songwriting has always been generous and personal, dispatches from a deep inner world. On Eye On The Bat, though, we meet El Kempner anew: a guttural howl; white-hot and blistering catharsis; a feverish and visceral and painful present. The record charts something that divides you into “before” and “after.” It’s a documentation of illusions shattering, the danger of fantasy, of heartbreak, and the pain of growth. A tangle of raw nerves coming undone amongst swelling, propulsive instrumentation - listen below and get your limited edition copy on Black in Cloudy Clear with Green Splatter vinyl now.

Recorded in brief stints across 2022 at Flying Cloud Recordings in the Catskills, the space between each session gave Kempner more time to breathe, to revisit the songs after time away. Kempner co-produced Eye On The Bat alongside Sam Owens (Big Thief, Cass McCombs), who was also crucial to the process -- lending assistance yet allowing Kempner to take the reins on producing, to call the shots on the session and step into their own as a producer. 

Kempner also credits multi-instrumentalist Larz Brogan, who they refer to as “their platonic life partner” and longtime member of Palehound since the Boston DIY days, as a vital part of making the album come together the way it did. They make Kempner feel seen - allow them to be vulnerable, to experiment, to push themself in the studio. After playing together for so many years, Brogan and Kempner both wanted to push themselves to make a record that sounded less produced, one that simply captured the raw energy of Palehound live.

“In the past, I’ve taken myself really seriously in the studio, and I’ve ended up with really serious-sounding records. This one – it’s a break up record. I wanted it to sound raw. I wanted it to sound like I was feeling – very much in control, and out of control, at the same time.” - El Kempner (Palehound)

Opening track “Good Sex” charts trying to make a relationship work, the desperation to recapture something, in searing detail; before dissolving into “Independence Day,” its chaotic counterpart, where you realize you can’t and find yourself breaking someone’s heart in the glow of fireworks. “The Clutch” flies by red flags, plunging forward even though it shouldn’t, even though it’s speeding toward heartbreak; while “My Evil” is about being the heartbreaker, hurting someone you never could have imagined hurting. Accepting that, even if unintentional, we all act as villains in someone else’s story.

The poetry is still present – full of aching and shrine-building to minutiae – but it feels genuinely diaristic and authentic. In the past, Kempner admits to hiding behind poetic notions, burying the hurt in metaphors. But here, El’s at their most open and vulnerable. 

“I was trying too hard to figure out who I am - what kind of musician I want to be, what kind of person I want to be. And now I’m just embracing my instinct, and bucking what other people’s expectations are. These songs are truly just for me. I was really intentional in processing every detail. For my own sake, frankly.” - El

Eye On The Bat is not a hopeful record in content, but it’s immediately recognizable as the sort of totem you come out clutching on the other side of profound change. It’s cerebral, trying to make sense of grief in a grocery store or an argument in a parking lot, plumbing the anxious depths of the interiors. It feels like a promise to yourself – if you made it through that, you’ll handle whatever comes next.

You can catch Palehound's sinewy, off-kilter guitar riffs unfurl around their anxiety-laden lyrics on tour this fall - tickets for their headline dates and newly added boygenius support dates on sale now!