“The one thing we all connected on was making high energy music – making people dance, making groovy music.” So says Parcels’ Patrick Hetherington, and it only takes some brief time spent with the band’s repertoire to see why.
Whether you love their music or not, there’s no denying this group knows how to groove. Theirs is the kind of addictive genre-fusion that you’ll start bopping and swaying to instinctively. The Australian-born Berlin-based group is self-dubbed “electro-pop” meets “disco-soul”, a blend that makes their sound feel like a freshly modern remnant of the past. It’s the rare kind of music that’s somehow perfectly appropriate for a dinner party, a disco dancefloor or a rowdy festival. (Pick your poison.)
If you’ve ever seen a photo of the band, you’ll know that these guys look like they fell asleep in the 70s and woke up 40 years later. Their electic, vintage aesthetic is impeccably polished. (It's really quite astonishing --- they never fall short.)
Each of the band’s five members is a singer and multi-instrumentalist, and while Hetherington or bandmate Jules Crommelin take over for solos from time to time, many of their songs find them all singing together in effortless harmonies. You can imagine any one of the vocal layers might sound weird on its own, but the combination works perfectly, and Crommelin’s gentle falsetto topping them off perfectly ties the bunch together.
Their self-titled debut album was released in 2018 and met with all kinds of acclaim --- from disco addicts to pop lovers to folk fans alike. If you, like me, are usually guilty of clicking ‘shuffle’ on an album instead of letting its intended order do the work, let this collection serve as a reminder. There's a few incredibly sleek transitions between songs that deserve to be played out as the artists designed --- Comedown into Lightenup is especially fun. Also, ending the album with three full minutes of rapped credits? I mean, who does that? Fantastic.
But I want to focus on Parcels’ more recent album, Live Vol. 1, released two weeks ago but recorded live on tape pre-quarantine at Hansa Studios in Berlin – past host to the likes of David Bowie, Depeche Mode, U2 and a whole lot more icons. According to the band, the recording wasn’t edited in any way, only mixed, and accompanying it is a full-length video of the studio session which offers a close-up look behind the music. (Are you excited yet?) Video director Carmen Crommelin has described: “The magic of Parcels needs no added narrative if you’re lucky enough to witness them in creation. I wanted the camera to be both passive and intimate, so you could politely observe from a distance and walk through the room like a friend.” And that’s exactly how it feels.
Some more critical reviews of Live Vol. 1 have complained that it doesn’t offer anything new. But that's just completely untrue, is all I can say. Though many of the songs from their debut album are indeed included again, they’re given an upbeat revamp. Tracks like Bemyself and IknowhowIfeel are way more energetic and playful than their original counterparts, and many of the songs also allow for long new stretches of instrumental jamming which the debut versions didn’t leave room for.
Even the lyrics see some alterations – e.g. during their proverbial heartbreak track Withorwithout, they change the lyrics to sing “better without you” way more than the original. (Cheers to that!)
There are quite a few funky new tunes integrated as well, including the perfect opening track Enter. The song starts off mysteriously tense with just Hetherington on keys, before the rest of the band slowly joins in to spur the energy by carrying the key higher and higher --- ‘Something’s coming and it’s gonna be good’. The first transition into Myenemy is then so seamless that if you’re not paying attention you’d never know where one song ends and the next begins.
But the best part about this release is just being able to peak into the studio and watch this band in their element. You get to see the little things like Hetherington tapping on a glass bottle to add an extra rhythmic sound, or Louie Swain playing with the stations on a mini-radio to introduce Everyroad.
They’re all so in the moment – head bopping HARD, eyes closed, swaying and dancing along. It’s amazing to watch; you get the feeling that nothing could break their energy. It’s especially sweet to see the way they look at each other sometimes to cool their nerves and toss a cheeky smile.
The band has described this live release as “the perfect bookend to the debut album”. Now we wait for whatever will come next --- and given their releases to date, it’ll surely be good.
Happy listening! :)
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