Palo Santo by Years & Years

Palo Santo is the second studio album by the English electronic trio Years & Years, released by Polydor Records on 6 July 2018. Executive produced by the band, it is the follow-up to their debut album Communion (2015). After the success of their Communion, the trio felt pressured in making their succeeding record. Influenced by religion and spirituality, lead singer and principal songwriter Olly Alexander wanted to connect religious transcendence to pop music after perceiving parallels between a church's sense of belonging and gay nightclubs. The trio met with frequent and new collaborators such as Mark Ralph, Greg Kurstin, Steve Mac and Jesse Shatkin to produce most its tracks. It is named after the South American "palo santo" (Spanish for "holy wood"), which was commonly used to fend off bad spirits, though Alexander used its name as a dick joke referring to men he knew. Palo Santo is a concept album, set in the fictional world of Palo Santo, where traditional rules regarding gender and sexuality do not exist. Its lyrical content deals with "the murky, complicated side" of desire, as well as the connection between religion and carnality, using religious iconography in dealing with themes of sexuality, queerness and guilt. Its visual imagery took inspirations from science fiction and technology where androids yearn to experience emotion. Sonically, the album is a dance-pop and electropop record influenced by 1990s pop and R&B music. Palo Santo's release was accompanied by a short film of the same name. Its promotional campaign features a single aesthetic of a dystopian future in Palo Santo, both of which were prominently used for the album and its accompanying film. Upon its release, Palo Santo received praise from music critics, some of whom lauded its deeper emotional resonance compared to its predecessor and Alexander's refusal to embrace moral didacticism and his vibrant display of character. Commercially, the album debuted in the top three of the UK Albums Chart and became the band's second album to top the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart. Three singles were released from the album—"Sanctify", "If You're Over Me" and "All for You", with the latter two making the top forty on the UK Singles Chart, and "If You're Over Me" becoming a top ten hit. The trio are set to support the album on the Palo Santo Tour, which commenced in October 2018 in North America.