Parlovr's S/T

Rating: 86

Track List:
1. Pen to the Paper
2. Sandwalking
3. On the Phone
4. Hiccup!
5. Sever My Ties
6. Speech Bubble/Thought Cloud
7. In Your House
8. Archy & Mehitabel
9. Sleeping Horses
10. Palace of Identical Things
11. All the World is All That is the Case

Officially this album dropped back in 2008 in a self-released version, and from what I can tell from some rather extensive internet cruising, Dine Alone Records’ version is little more than a re-branding. Parlovr’s brand of self described “sloppy pop” is right at home as a DIY manifestation, but really, there aren’t any production flaws to speak of, so why bother re-recording? It’s certainly not what I’d describe as clean production, but clearly, that’s not really what this three-piece was shooting for. It seems like the only thing they really are shooting for is their own identity separate from their Montreal brethren. There are certainly some overlapping tendencies with bands like Arcade Fire, Stars, Islands/The Unicorns, Plants and Animals and Wolf Parade, or Broken Social Scene (Toronto), but they only come through in brief flashes. There’s the totally bonkers drumming and shout-singing from Arcade Fire, the mutilated pop brilliance of Nick Thorburn, the brushes with epic like Stars, the quick change hard and soft dynamics like BSS or Plants and Animals, and the thoroughly fascinating duality between the two lead vocalists like Wolf Parade. The thing is, once you think you’ve got their dynamic figured out, they’re onto something new. Let’s just hope Alex Cooper doesn’t split the vote with his own little Sunset Rubdown.

The band name Parlovr, while looking like the vanity plate of a golf enthusiast, is actually pronounced parlour (or parlor if you‘re from ‘mer’ca). The only real defense of this bit of trickeration I can think of is looks can be deceiving. This act makes one hell of a lot more noise than you might think possible of a three-piece, and despite the lack of bass, the treble really never gets too overwhelming. Basically, whatever you think you know about Parlovr, you’re wrong (they insist).

Don’t believe me? Give the sonic boom that starts off “Pen to the Paper” and the album a listen, bearing in mind it’s just two guitars and drums. It’s some big, big noise, but unlike BSS or Arcade Fire, they don’t need a band member count in the double digits to pull it off. They’re incredibly basic on paper, but their sonic sleight of hand is more than a little bewildering. “Sandwalking” slows down the momentum a little and legitimately sounds like a three-piece making it feel like Parlovr’s finding a nitche , but two minutes in has the boys busting out of that tidy little box with some grooving drumming and vocal squawks that make “Crown of Love” seem amateurish. But it’s not all about shirking normalcy for Parlovr. “On the Phone” with it’s tinkling xylophone and charming “oohs” and “Hiccup!” with it’s hooking riff chugging along throughout make pretty good candidates for pop songs. But again, “Sever My Ties” comes along and blows everything you think about the first four tracks right out of the water with downright daffy energy. And then here we go again, our boys throw us for yet another loop with the acoustic guitar and totally 80s keys carrying us through six minutes of the really smart examination of the sometimes disparaging distance between words and feelings in relationships in “Speech Bubble/Thought Cloud,” easily the standout track of the LP.

If nothing else, Parlovr proves their erratic tendencies aren’t so much a lack of focus as it is an exhibition of a plethora of good ideas. It might seem like a band struggling to carve out their own unique slice of the Montreal scene, but really, that struggle is their slice. In some ways, these guys represent bits and pieces of all of what makes the Montreal scene so exciting, but in more ways, Parlovr is doing what nobody else is. There’s no point in wondering whether the group is coming or going, when after these eleven tracks, it’s clear Parlovr is here to stay.