Watch: Parlovr - "Holding On To Something"

Yesterday, Montreal indie-pop trio Parlovr premiered their spanking new video for their latest album Kook Soul's best track "Holding On To Something" over at Noisey. And it's kind of just what you'd expect from the quirky threesome. Well, in so far in that the video is weird and fun and has very little if nothing at all to do with songs lyrics or anything like that. The plot of the video is essentially that of a movie told not at its actual start but not wholly in reverse either. The movie sort of takes cues from silent movie era films in that there are panels between acts that tell you the story as its about to unfold.

After a very audible "Action!" that signals the video's start, the screen pans from a piano playing Alex to a confused looking Jeremy and Louis mouths the words to "Holding On To Something", all appears as normal as you're going to get with the trio before things spiral out of control and quasi-hilarity ensues. Jeremy develops a random ailment, Alex attempts to help, and Louis just sings. There's also a pretty nonsensical scene of Alex's hair blowing in the wind as he caresses an iguana.  And everything happens in slow motion. And that's pretty much all you get.

Watch Parlovr's video for "Holding On To Something":

Parlovr - Kook Soul (2012)

Since my discovery of them at We Listen For You's spectacular CMJ showcase to the release of their first new single, Parlovr have been very well within my sights. While their single "You Only Want It 'Cause You're Lonely" was certainly catchy enough to merit my paying attention, it was "Holding On To Something" which the band released as a sort of SXSW teaser that really won me over and had me practically salivating for their new album.

Kook Soul, the Montreal trio's sophomore record and their first under label contract with Dine Alone Records, is certainly not a departure from their rough-and-tumble ragged-edge rock pop but it's more than just the same old song and dance. A series of love songs, the real twist is that they're all filled with a sort of steely but not grim-faced violence that arises from keen self-awareness. No posturing or victim-playing here - the Quebec rabble-rousers offer up an astonishingly indelible set of songs that properly balances truth with pop. Opener "Do You Remember?" and "Just Marriage" have all the balls-to-the-wall energy of their self-titled debut but it's when the glorious strains of "Holding On To Something" where you truly become aware of the band's growth. Tight-knit pieces that feed off each other ravenously, "Holding On To Something" is about a perfect a pop song as the group's ever made: capturing their penchant for anthemic shout-vocals with intensely memorable melodies. "Now That You're Gone" continues with their delightful streak of dancey ear-catching pop tunes with just the barest hint of a retro-rock vibe giving the subtlest hint at a by-gone-era to keep things interesting.

"Married On A Sunday" is where the album trades in its momentum for a bit of a different track - starting with a bit of sing-talk before the track picks up and all the parts come properly together. It's a track you may not like on first or even second listen but which is poised to win you over on album listen after album listen. "You Only Want It 'Cause You're Lonely" also functions as a bit of a cool-down, slowly building up before it's big rock moments (which really aren't that big in comparison to the album's others).

"Bad Faith" functions as the album's sole ballad and to call it that is a bit of a misnomer perhaps - it's a slower more emotion-fueled song yes but it retains that trio's enthusiastic touch that keeps it from slowing things down too much.

Considering the amount of intense busy moments on Kook Soul, you have to regard the thing as a success. Is it perfect? No. But that's not really Parlovr's style anyway. Kook Soul is bold, brash, virtually unapologetic set of colorful pop songs. Some songs are better than others but none are completely unnecessary.  A charming album that gains whole new meaning when you realize it's essentially the thing that kept the band from breaking up. And considering it's dual composition - songwriters Alex Cooper and Louis Jackson essentially wrote their own songs by themselves and they remain relatively untouched by anyone but drummer Jeremy MacCuish- it's a wonder that the thing works as fluidly as it does. At no point can you tell "This is Alex's, now this is Louis'". Each of the songs all fit together in Parlovr's messy way. A solid follow up  all things considered. Here's hoping there will be more to come from the rather young Montreal threesome.

Get a taste of the album with arguable the best song on it, "Holding On To Something":



You can listen to Parlovr's Kook Soul on Spotify.

Parlovr - "You Only Want It 'Cause You're Lonely"/"Bad Faith"

My introduction to Montreal-based trio Parlovr happened as all great discoveries are bound to happen - through CMJ. In particular at We Listen For You's exceptional day party. They were among the multitude of bands there I went in knowing absolutely nothing about and being pleasantly surprised to find absolutely rocked. Right before heading off to SXSW, the trio announced the release of their upcoming sophomore record Kook Soul in May, and premiered a brand new single "You Only Want It 'Cause You're Lonely" over at Noisey which you can listen to here. Unlike their first single "Holding On To Something", "You Only Want It 'Cause You're Lonely" is composed in parts - slipping between slow building soft-rock narratives and full on psychedelic jam with snap, claps, and swooping falsetto.

And similarly to my discovery of "Holding On To Something", I came across "Bad Faith" while looking for ways to host Parlovr's latest single. Turns out Parlovr have been sitting on some of the tracks for Kook Soul for quite some time as the acoustic video for "Bad Faith" was filmed by Southern Souls way back in August (long before they rocked CMJ). Also a gem. And pretty much assures that Kook Soul is going to be a highly enjoyable album. Check it out:


PARLOVR - Bad Faith from Mitch Fillion (southernsouls.ca) on Vimeo.


Parlovr's Kook Soul is out May 15th on Dine Alone Records.

Parlovr - "Holding On To Something"

Yesterday, Montreal trio Parlovr announced the release of their brand new upcoming album Kook Soul and premiered the first single over at Noisey. While looking for some sort of way to host the premiered track here, I stumbled upon this other song also on the upcoming album. "Holding On To Something"  follows in the footsteps of first album single "You Only Want It When You're Lonely" in that alternates unpredictably from section to section - one featuring a repetitive scalar climb, the other ramshackle rock shout vocals. Together they create an insanely catchy tune that I'm not sure I'll ever stop listening to. If I do, it'll only be to listen to that other new Parlovr song.



Parlovr's upcoming album Kook Soul is out May 15th on Dine Alone Records.