From the fertile musical landscape of Louisville, Kentucky, Parlour arose over a decade ago from the same indie scene as bands like Slint, Crain, and Rodan. In fact, founding member Tim Furnish was also a member of Crain, and has played with Papa M/Aerial M, among others. This full-length is their first release in 5 years, and it's a well-done collision of seemingly disparate musical influences. Parlour are a rock band who don't play rock music. The instrumentation is there -- guitars, drums, clarinet, sax, and synths. But the music reveals itself to be more like a post-rock, proto-jazz soundtrack. There are no vocals, as Parlour let their music do the talking, so to speak. And that's fine by me, as this album proves to be an exceptional melange of moods, textures, and rhythms.The muscular "Destruction Paper" opens, with a densely-mixed music box effect (a combination of keyboards and guitars) circled by tight, propulsive rhythms. Also particularly effective is the swelling and melodic "Wedder", which drives into a beautiful climax of chiming guitars and clarinet squalls. Fans of Explosions In The Sky will appreciate the textural dynamics here. The 10-minute closer, "Sea Of Bubbly Goo", is a spacy and thunderous confluence of Krautrock-style pulsations (think Neu! or Can) and modern post-jazz broadstrokes (ala Tortoise). An incredible track, and a fitting conclusion to this wonderful recording. (Temporary Residence)
Parlour's site
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