by hapago

It’s a record for these times, it’s a record for those times, it’s Parsnip’s new LP “BEHOLD”! The new LP has everything you could want out of a band that’s never missed. Standouts include the fast-paced sonic masterpiece “The Light,” that sounds Stereolab-ish, perhaps even Flying Nun-ish, but a more apt descriptor is that it sounds like PARSNIP! My favorite song on the whole thing is “TURN TO LOVE,” a song with a perfect straightforward message and one of the catchiest melodies in recent memory. Cam and I listened to that song anywhere from 78 to 2,458 times when we were on tour in March, after it got accidentally leaked. MAN! What a song.

I’d really like to point out how GOOD at MUSIC the band is. Paris’ bass playing is simply awe-inspiring, Stella’s guitar AND sax playing sound like sheer joy, Bec adds notes and dynamics that I didn’t even know existed, and Carolyn’s rhythmic instinct ties it all together with a bow on top.

“UNEARTHING” and “CLEAR BLUE SKY” are further examples as to how consistent PARSNIP is. The middle part of the latter-mentioned song has a booming, quick feeling that I can feel in my heart while I drive my beat-up 2008 Nissan Altima down White Bridge Road. Speaking of driving while listening to PARSNIP, I find that when I listen to “PAPIER-MÂCHÉ,” I am accidentally driving 30 miles per hours over the speed limit (that’s 48.2 kilometers per hour over the speed limit if yr reading this in Australia!)

The album sounds like friendship once you’ve been friends for a while–it just GOES together and you can’t really imagine what it would be like otherwise. I s’pose that PARSNIP is the essence of friendship. The fact that I’m alive and well to witness new albums from this band is something I’m very grateful for.

DIG THE “TURN TO LOVE” VIDEO RIGHT HERE – get into it!!

BUY THE LP FROM ANTI-FADE AND UPSET THE RHYTHM HERE!!

ALSO–go see PARSNIP on tour throughout Japan in May!

AS ALWAYS: thanks for reading! Hope you enjoy. I have no idea what I’m doing but it’s fun!

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