Palehound

Palehound is an American indie rock group based in Boston and active from 2014 onwards. The project is led by singer-songwriter Ellen Kempner, who uses they/them pronouns and writes and performs their own songs. Kempner begins writing and performing original material at the age of 10 and first develops as a musician through work in the band Cheerleader and as a solo artist under the name Kempa.

Early work and formation

Before Palehound, Kempner releases Dog on Crutches as Kempa in 2012. The recording is self-recorded and is described as lo-fi indie rock. Palehound then starts as a revolving band project while Kempner is in their freshman year of college.

Recording and releases

Palehound records its debut material at Brooklyn’s Gravesend Recordings with Julian Fader and Carlos Hernandez of Ava Luna. The band’s Bent Nail EP follows on Exploding In Sound Records, appearing on cassette and digitally. Kempner describes the songs on the record as reflecting the shift from teenage life into adulthood.

Line-up

The group includes Larz Brogan, Ellen Kempner and Jesse Weiss.