Parlovr

A cheap Kmart guitar with its guts ripped out, a two-piece drum kit and a keyboard with a mind of its own would all be alone if they weren't all thrown in the mess that PARLOVR got them in when they stumbled together in the wintry months of 2006. Reacting against the multi-instrumental, many-membered orchestral bands that crowded the local Montreal scene at the time, PARLOVR was started with the intention of blowing amps and streamlining pop melodies, bringing back the power-trio of the 90s with an off-the-wall twist.

PARLOVR's self-titled debut LP (Independent, 2008) was produced and recorded by Martin Horn at Digital Bird Studios over the course of six weeks and has brought into focus each of the three members' unique personalities while not losing sight of their pell-mell live show.

At October 19th PARLOVR is to release Heaven/Hell/Big/Love EP. The songs on the EP were formed around 'Hell, Heaven', a tune the band started playing a little over a year ago at shows. The idea was to craft 3-4 other additional songs in the studio without any rehearsals or premeditated parts. We also wanted create 4-5 pieces that had no direct thematic connection to one another. While 'Hell, Heaven' has me abstractly meandering through the thoughts of a childhood spent in the middle east, 'Big Love' invokes a more sarcastic, cheeky side of the band with Louis crooning about an ex-girlfriend who has the 'look of a man'. 'Where Is The Sun' and 'Tehching Hsieh' each show a more surreal side of Parlovr's epic reach: 'Where Is The Sun' has a dreamy romantic punch and 'Tehching Hsieh' is a twisted bio-tune (biographical tune!?) of an obsure 70s performance artist.

The result is a collection of songs that feel like flipping through cable t.v. channels in a roadside motel while half asleep. It's an epic meets tongue-in-cheek set of songs, with melodies that contrast quickly from catchy to twisted, and guitars and drums that go from pell mell to streamlined, sometimes several times within song. Even the bass synth can't settle down into one kind of emotional pattern. It's all amused chaos from afar, but pretty thick and holistic when listened to up close.

Like Parlovr's self-titled debut, the EP was recorded with Martin Horn at Digital Bird Studios in Montreal, intermittently while the band found breaks from various tours. A lot of Roland Space Echo was used, as well as an old analog snythesizer called a Yamaha CS-5. Recommended!

Parlovr - Heaven, Hell
Parlovr - Pen To The Paper
Parlovr - Archy & Mehitabel
Parlovr@MySpace


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FREE ALBUM:

Another surprise from a Dead Oceans artist! John Vanderslice recently completed an EP that he's giving away to his fans on his website. From JV himself:

Happy fall everyone. I've had a good year of recording, working at Tiny Telephone, buying all kinds of crazy heirloom tomatoes at the Alemany farmer's market, and living the domestic life. Let's celebrate by downloading my new EP, Green Grow The Rushes.

John Vanderslice - Green Grown The Rushes (EP)


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SONG OF THE DAY: Red Sparowes - Giving Birth To Imagined Saviors
(from The Fear Is Excruciating, But Therein Lies The Answer, out April 6th on Sargent House)

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