There might be rats in the palm trees, but where are Popstrangers? Out on the water. The New Zealand trio recorded this new 7-inch in an old lightship moored on the River Thames in London, where the band moved in April. The recording and mixing with Rory Attwell (Warm Brains, Test Icicles) only took one weekend on the river and produced the roaring, restless "Rats In The Palm Trees" and its daydream memory B-side, "Fortuna."
“I know it shines in you, but it burns me through, you’re the mirror telling lies,” sings Joel Flyger over the reverberating distortion of his guitar on “Rats In The Palm Trees.” Bassist Adam Page provides a propelling riff and drummer David Larson offers a rocking rhythm. The stays-in-your-head titular chorus is a literal metaphor, Flyger says. It’s about great things being soured by something nasty or undesirable.
“Fortuna” is a self-reflective song about personal change. It has a lazy, woozy feel as Flyger sings, “I miss the good in your eyes, it changes with all that you do.” But Popstrangers turn up the volume to ask, “If you could change, then would you?”
