By: Staff
Aberdeen’s electrifying emo trio, Palejoy, are poised to drop their explosive new single, “I Bet Heaven Isn't Real At All”.
This track promises to push boundaries and captivate listeners with a bold blend of intensity and heart.
2023 has been a breakthrough year for Palejoy. They’ve ignited stages across Scotland, performing alongside some of the most exciting emerging bands in the scene. Their journey has included a sold-out headliner, a social media moment that sparked a wave of new fans, and an unyielding dedication to a fierce DIY ethic—all fueled by just two demo releases. Now, the band is laser-focused on bringing their live energy to recorded music, beginning with “I Bet Heaven Isn’t Real At All.”
This powerful track is deeply personal for guitarist and vocalist Dale, who channels raw emotion to confront grief, anger, and self-reflection after the passing of his grandfather. With gripping lyrics and an evocative arrangement, the song plunges listeners into the visceral weight of loss and healing.
“I Bet Heaven Isn’t Real At All” was recorded by Ewan Simpson and meticulously mixed and mastered by Mark Morrow. It will be available for streaming on November 8th across all major platforms.
Don't miss out on PALEJOY's powerful new single, “I Bet Heaven Isn’t Real At All”! Stream it now, add it to your playlist, and share it with friends who need a song that hits deep.
Be part of the movement and help spread the word – every listen, add, and share brings us closer together. Let’s make some noise!
We had the chance to catch up with Palejoy for an exclusive interview in "The Cage" Music Blog.
Here’s how it went:
Begin Interview
Hello Palejoy, we’re thrilled to have you here for this interview! We've had an amazing time exploring your music and diving into your creative journey. Now, we’re even more excited to get a deeper look into both your brand and your personal and professional inspirations
Could you introduce each member of Palejoy and share a bit about their performance role?
Hello! I’m Dale. I’m the guitarist and vocalist. Palejoy is made up of Jamie, Kieran and myself. Jamie, is the bass player, or should I say the Bass VI player and also vocalist. Kieran is the man behind the kit. There is no lead songwriter as such. We all tend to chip in with songs. It’s a very collaborative effort.
How would you describe your music to someone who’s never heard it before? Are there influences or moods you aim to evoke in your sound?
Dale: I’d say we’re an emo band that writes from personal experiences to create vulnerable and introspective lyrics, combined with raw guitars and melodies. For me personally when writing music for this band I’ve drawn influence from bands such as Basement, Movements, Hot Mulligan and Microwave. We couldn’t call ourselves a Scottish band if there wasn’t a bit of Biffy Clyro in there too!
Your new single, “I Bet Heaven Isn’t Real At All,” explores some deeply personal themes, stemming from your experience with the loss of your grandfather. How did this influence not only the lyrics but also the emotional tone and sonic direction of the track? Did the music itself evolve as you processed these feelings?
Dale: My grandfather, or Papa as he’s better known, is someone who was such an important figure in my life, so it was only natural for me to write about him and how I was feeling following his passing. I also find writing music can be very healing when dealing with such emotions. It certainly influenced the feel of the track and the vocal delivery. The overall feeling for me with the track was self-loathing. Papa was like the head of the family. Someone we all looked up to and could rely on. I had this overwhelming feeling that the pressure was on me to take that role on at the time, but I could never be as great a man as he was. It was a feeling a battled for quite some time before realising that we are all him, and we are all there to lean on each other. I think we captured these feelings well in the track.
The background visual in the lyric video for this release is compelling. What message or feeling were you hoping the visuals would convey to your audience?
I wanted the movement of the visuals to feel like a continuous journey with no real end in sight. That’s what I feel like grief is. It’s something that moves with you through your life. We can’t see an ending to how losing someone so close to you makes you feel. You just learn to live with those feelings.
With such a raw, emotional song, did you find any part of the process—writing, recording, performing—particularly challenging or cathartic?
It was very cathartic for me. When I first listened back to the track, I had goosebumps and I could feel a lump in my throat I felt like I was able to let go of a lot of those feelings of self-loathing and anger. I’m very proud of what we achieved with this song.
Your sound merges alternative rock, emo, and post-hardcore. Do you feel like your music bridges these genres or is there one you feel represents you best?
I think that’s a very accurate description to be honest. We all love a lot of bands that fall under those genres and that comes through in our writing.
Can you walk us through how a typical song takes shape for Palejoy? Which instrument usually sets the foundation, and how does everyone contribute to shaping the final sound?
Guitar almost every single time sets the foundation. We all write with a guitar in hand so it just feels right that the guitar takes the lead and sets the direction a song takes. We all throw in ideas for structure and melodies and we tend to build it section by section together. We bounce ideas off each other and we all seem to have the same vision of where a song needs to go.
You’re known for a strong DIY approach, from demos to live shows. What’s been the biggest lesson or reward from doing things on your own terms?
We’ve all been playing in bands for many years and gained a lot of experience to be able to do everything on our terms and be confident we can achieve results without any outside influence. We’ve learnt many lessons over the years, but the biggest reward is when you build an audience that is enthusiastic about what you’re doing and you end up selling out shows. It gives you real peace of mind and reassures you that you’re not totally clueless!
The Aberdeen music scene has its own distinct vibe. How has playing local venues and sharing the stage with emerging Scottish bands influenced your sound or approach?
I think it’s pushed us to really nail our identity as a band. I don’t think anyone in the local scene really sounds like we do, and I think that’s been important for us. It’s allowed us to really put our stamp on things and let people know we’ve arrived. The Aberdeen scene is very welcoming and supportive too and that’s a vibe we’re tried to take out on the road with us.
You had a “viral moment” on X (formerly Twitter) that brought new attention to Palejoy. Can you describe what happened? How did that moment shaped how you connect with fans or use social media as a band?
It's a funny story. Our “viral moment” was someone trying to hate on our approach to TikTok and our attempt to find our audience. An approach that many other bands also take. It’s just us saying “Hey, if you like these bands, you might like us.” Totally harmless. Basically saying “FFO” back in the MySpace days. So, this took off on X. A very mixed bag of opinions but we saw a lot of humour in it. We didn’t take it to heart. We even had the support of YouTube musician Todd Barriage. He was very lovely about our music. There was however one comment that we found hilarious. Someone had zoomed in on my face and said, “We’re from Scotland… bro we can tell.” Clearly referring to my ginger beard. We decided to strike whilst the iron was hot and designed a t-shirt from this comment. It was too good not to! We ended up gaining new followers from it, and more people checked out our music. So, any publicity really is good publicity!
If you could play a show with any band, past or present, who would it be and why? Is there a specific artist who has influenced your journey?
Biffy Clyro. They’ve been my heroes for many years!
What is the most stressful part of making and sharing music for you all? Is it the songwriting, the recording, or maybe even the release day itself?
The most stressful part this time round was reviewing the mixes. Kieran and I were close to falling out over it, hah!
For fans who might be struggling with sadness or self-doubt, what would you hope they take away from listening to “I Bet Heaven Isn’t Real At All?”
I hope they can take comfort in the fact that they’re not alone. These are feelings that we all experience, for various reasons. Reach out to someone close to you, or someone you can trust and confide in them, lean on them and reciprocate that too. Life is a crazy storm, but we can come through it together.
If you could shift one aspect of the current music industry, what would it be, and how do you think it would benefit artists?
Set a minimum rate for royalties from streaming platforms. So many artists struggle to continue to make their art due to costs. These platforms make eye-watering amount of money and the artists get a really raw deal.
What’s next for Palejoy after this release? Are there any other projects or collaborations you’re excited to explore?
We’ve got another single that we’ll be releasing next year and plans to hit the studio to record some more music. We’ve got one eye on planning shows too and hope to hit the road as soon as possible!
Thanks again!
Dale
Palejoy, thank you so much, we appreciate you taking the time to talk to us!
End Interview
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We’re happy to have shared Palejoy’s exciting journey with you and uncovered such inspiring insights about their creative process.
Now, click the links below to experience their incredible work firsthand!
Check out this latest release and listen to more of Palejoy on Spotify & YouTube.
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